Tesla Global Vehicle Sales Rose 69% in First Quarter to 25,000

Auto maker aims to deliver 50,000 vehicles in first half

Tesla Inc. on Sunday said its global sales rose 69% in the first quarter, its best quarter of sales yet, putting the auto maker on a path to meet its goal of 50,000 deliveries in the first half of the year.

The Silicon Valley electric-car maker said it delivered roughly 25,000 vehicles—about 13,450 Model S sedans and about 11,550 Model X sport-utility vehicles—in the quarter, compared with a total of 14,820 a year earlier.

It was Tesla’s best quarter of sales on record, topping the third quarter of 2016, when it delivered 24,500 vehicles, which helped the company post its second-ever profitable quarter.

The results should help fuel further investor confidence in Chief Executive Elon Musk as he works to bring out later this year a $35,000 sedan called the Model 3

Tesla is aiming to sell about as many vehicles in the first half of 2017 as it delivered during the final six months of last year.

Much of the first-quarter gain came from the continued rollout of the Model X, which had 2,400 sales a year earlier. The Model S increased about 8% from a year ago. Tesla, unlike other major auto makers, doesn’t break out sales by region. In 2016, revenue from U.S. activities made up 60% of the company’s business.

During the first three months of this year, Tesla built 25,148 vehicles, the company said.

How important are seasonal trends in the automotive sector?

A: The automotive industry has some definite seasonal trends, with peak demand occurring in the spring and fall, and lowest sales in December, January and February.

The two divisions of auto sales – new and used cars – both tend to experience the same seasonal ups and downs in sales volume. Auto sales traditionally drop to their lowest levels of the year from December through February. The holiday season, when consumers make large expenditures of disposable income elsewhere, and cold weather contribute to this traditionally slow time of year for auto sales. This seasonal trend continues to hold true despite the fact that auto dealers often offer some of the best deals of the year during the winter in an effort to move inventory off their lots. Days sales of inventory is an important analytical metric for auto dealers, who generally do not like to see numbers above 60 on their DSI. The only exceptions to the seasonal slump in auto sales during winter is in the market for 4x4 sport utility vehicles; these vehicles see a seasonal surge in demand during the winter.

The two peak seasons for auto sales occur during the spring, from the end of February through the end of May, and from September through November. During these periods of peak demand, cars' average sale prices can rise by 10% to 15%. Part of the explanation for the fall seasonal upswing in auto sales is due to U.S. auto manufacturers traditionally introducing new models for the year. After peaking in November, motor vehicle sales tend to drop dramatically in December as the retail sales sector begins to experience its large holiday seasonal upsurge.

The ambitions are very modest for now: Acura expects to sell 10,000 units until the end of the year, or about 2,000 per month. For comparison: the Audi Q3 sold 8,060 units in June alone, the BMW X1, 4,370 and the Mercedes-Benz GLA, 6,219.