European Brands Will Soon Overtake Tesla In EV Sales, Says Study

For the last few years, Tesla has had the premium EV market all to itself and played a significant part in accelerating the industry’s shift towards electrification. In the not too distant future, however, it could very well be knocked off its perch.

According to a study by PA Consulting that was published by Bloomberg, Tesla will remain number 1 in the EV market throughout 2019. However, as established car manufacturers begin introducing electric models over the next two years, Elon Musk’s company could fall as low as seventh in global EV sales.

The study suggests that Daimler will take the lead in 2021, followed by BMW, Renault Nissan Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Toyota, and Tesla.

The predictions were made based on car manufacturer strategy, battery technology, culture, supplier networks, partnerships and financial performance.

Unlike Tesla, all of the aforementioned car manufacturers have established supply chains to accelerate the development and production of electric vehicles. What’s more, they all have decades worth of experience of building multiple models on a mass scale. Crucially, that’s something Tesla continues to struggle with, as is evident with the production issues impacting deliveries of the entry-level Model 3.

While sales of the Model S and Model X have been strong in recent years when compared to other EVs, the truth is that both models are built in very limited numbers when compared to the millions of ICE vehicles built annually by the world’s largest automakers. It could conceivably take Tesla five years or more to perfect the art of mass production of various models, and by the time that happens, it may have already lost the electric vehicle crown.