Tesla tightens grip on luxury market; Mercedes edges BMW in Q2

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story mistated the six-month time period when Tesla's share of the U.S. luxury market was 13 percent.  

Despite a wave of new electric vehicle competition, Tesla Inc. is tightening its grip on the U.S. luxury market.

In the first half of the year, the Texas-based EV maker accounted for 21.6 percent of total U.S. luxury sales, up from 13 percent in the first half of 2021, according to Automotive News Research & Data Center estimates.

Just four major luxury brands — Tesla, Lincoln, Porsche and Genesis — posted higher second-quarter sales, even as supply chain constraints stifled industry sales.

Premium-brand sales tallied 560,856 cars and light trucks in the second quarter, down 11 percent but outpacing the broader industry's 21 percent decline. Automakers have prioritized production of more profitable luxury vehicles, notably SUVs and crossovers, in the wake of the severe chip shortage that is expected to stretch into 2024.

After trailing perennial rival BMW in quarterly sales for more than a year, Mercedes-Benz made a comeback in the second quarter as inventory improved.

Mercedes delivered 79,105 vehicles — down 4 percent — in the April-to-June period, a 200-vehicle advantage over BMW. For the year, however, BMW remains ahead with a 11,263-vehicle lead over Mercedes. The Mercedes figures exclude commercial trucks and vans, which Automotive News does not consider luxury vehicles.

BMW sold 78,905 vehicles last quarter, down 18 percent. Light trucks accounted for more than two-thirds of the brand's quarterly sales.

As of June, BMW reported a 30-day supply of vehicles compared with Mercedes' 36-day supply, according to Cox Automotive.

While Tesla does not break out sales by market, the Automotive News Research & Data Center estimates Tesla delivered 118,700 cars and crossovers in the second quarter, rocketing 53 percent higher from a year earlier.

Tesla is also tracking to grab the luxury sales crown for the full year. In the first six months, the automaker has a 76,081-vehicle lead over No. 2 BMW.

Tesla's momentum is better reflected in registration data, which is a lagging indicator of deliveries and does not reflect actual sales in a specific period.

U.S. registrations of Tesla's four-vehicle lineup jumped 66 percent to 179,574 vehicles in the first five months, according to data from Experian last week. BMW was in second place in the luxury segment, with new registrations dropping 11 percent to 133,209 compared with last year.

Among other luxury brands, Lexus delivered 66,723 vehicles, down 20 percent from a year earlier, despite having a 27-day supply of inventory as of June 20.

Audi reported sales of 48,049 in the quarter, down 28 percent from a year earlier.

Volvo's second-quarter sales fell 24 percent to 27,828. COVID-19-related lockdowns in China caused component shortages, primarily affecting output of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars, Volvo said in a statement. The company said that nearly every third Volvo — 31 percent — sold during the first half of 2022 in the U.S. was a fully electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid.

Genesis sales climbed 26 percent to 13,945 and Porsche reported quarterly U.S. sales of 19,487 vehicles, a 2.8 percent jump from last year.