Tesla Inc. tightened its grip on the U.S. luxury sales crown in the second quarter, according to new-vehicle registration data that suggests the automaker's original plant in Fremont, Calif., has been humming along while its factories in Berlin and China have struggled.
U.S. registrations of Tesla's four-vehicle lineup rose 66 percent in the first five months of the year to 179,574 vehicles, according to data from Experian this week. BMW was in second place in the luxury segment with an 11 percent drop in new registrations to 133,209 compared with last year.
The numbers include all models, including gasoline and hybrid vehicles from legacy automakers.
Since Tesla does not break out sales data by region, new-vehicle registrations serve as a proxy for comparison purposes, but they lag behind the official U.S. sales data posted by most automakers on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Lexus was No. 3 in the U.S. luxury race with 112,296 registrations in the five-month period, a decline of 19 percent from a year earlier. Mercedes-Benz was No. 4, according to Experian, at 110,584 registrations for a 17 percent decline. Audi was fifth at 67,986 for a 35 percent drop.
The Automotive News Research & Data Center estimates Tesla first-half sales at 228,700 for a 47 percent increase over last year. BMW reported official sales of 152,619 for the first half.
Lexus said it sold 131,088, and Audi came in at 83,554.
Mercedes-Benz did not report sales as of Friday.
Among the top 10 luxury brands by sales, only Tesla and Genesis posted gains in the first half.