Tesla’s Model S performance sedan has returned to the top tier of new electric vehicle registrations in the U.S. at No. 3 for the first two months of the year, displacing the Ford Mustang Mach-E that held the spot for 2021.
The Model S and the Model X SUV had sluggish deliveries last year as Tesla struggled to ramp up production of significantly freshened versions. But Experian registration data from January and February shows Tesla’s most expensive models bouncing back.
The Model S posted 6,690 registrations for the two-month period, beating the Mustang Mach-E in fourth place at 4,851. Ford has said that supply constraints have held back Mach-E production even as demand soars.
Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 remained the top electric vehicles in the U.S., with Model Y registrations at 33,725 and Model 3 at 28,151, in the January-February period. The Model X was No. 7 on the Experian list with 2,684 registrations.
For full-year 2021, the Mach-E took the No. 3 spot in EV registrations behind the Model Y and Model 3. Chevrolet’s Bolt took fourth place, and the Model S was in fifth. The Model X did not make the top 10 because of a pause in production for a freshen.
Tesla does not break out U.S. sales, so registration data serves as a proxy. Likewise, not all automakers break out EVs that share a nameplate with non-EVs.
Registration data does not track sales data exactly, since vehicles can be sold in one month and registered in another, and some registration data relies on estimates.
In a separate report last week, Cox Automotive put Tesla’s EV market share at 75 percent in the first quarter of this year, rising from 70 percent last year despite increased competition in the U.S. EV market.
