Tesla grabs early lead for 2023 U.S. luxury crown, January registrations show

Tesla Inc. jumped to an early lead for the U.S. luxury crown in January with 49,917 new registrations, according to Experian, compared with 31,070 for BMW in the No. 2 spot.

The Texas-based EV maker — riding a wave of price cuts and a new $7,500 federal tax credit — had more registrations than No. 3 Mercedes-Benz and No. 4 Lexus combined, including vehicles of all powertrains. Mercedes had 23,345 and Lexus had 23,082, Experian said.

Tesla beat BMW last year for the luxury crown, regardless of fuel type, and is off to a much faster start this year. With a four-vehicle lineup, Tesla continues to grow rapidly in the U.S. while its rivals remain mostly flat.

Experian numbers provide a unique window into Tesla's performance since the automaker doesn't break out global sales by country or region. The data offers an apples-to-apples comparison for the market but doesn't match official sales numbers exactly.

Tesla enjoyed a 34 percent increase in new-vehicle registrations compared with January 2022, while BMW was up 2.5 percent, Mercedes was higher by 7.3 percent, and Lexus was lower by 6.6 percent.

The best-selling Tesla Model Y crossover benefited from a $13,000 price cut in mid-January that was designed to boost demand and absorb production from a new plant in Austin, Texas. The Model Y is also made in Fremont, Calif.

Tesla registrations were also helped by the federal EV tax credit. Prior to Jan. 1, Tesla was not eligible for the tax break because the automaker hit its ceiling of 200,000 credits under the old rules. The new law doesn't have limits.

Model Y registrations in January surged 56 percent to 28,833 vehicles, Experian data showed. For the Model 3 sedan, which received a smaller price cut, registrations rose 29 percent in January to 17,526.

Luxury rivals had minimal EV registrations to counter Tesla's domination of the overall EV market, which grew by 74 percent to 87,708 registrations. That number includes both luxury and mainstream vehicles, according to Experian data.

Tesla had 57 percent of the EV market in January compared with BMW at 2.9 percent and Mercedes at 2.4 percent. Lexus has yet to launch an EV.

Among all luxury brands, regardless of fuel type, Audi came in at No. 5 with 19,113 registrations for a 38 percent increase compared with January 2022. Cadillac had 13,220 registrations for a 36 percent increase and sixth place.

In seventh, Acura had 10,833, an increase of 32 percent, Experian said. Volvo came in eighth with 8,864 registrations for a 1.8 percent increase. Land Rover was ninth with 7,003 registrations, and Lincoln was No. 10 with 6,964.

Tesla is considered a luxury brand by dint of its price points and tech features, although CEO Elon Musk said at a March company event that the brand is working on a new platform for more affordable vehicles.

The base Model 3 starts at $44,630 with shipping, while a fully loaded Model X crossover tops $110,000. At BMW, the gasoline-powered BMW 330i sedan starts at $44,795 with shipping, while the top-trim iX electric crossover also tops $110,000.

BMW had three full-electric models on sale in January, including the i4 and i7 sedans. The BMW i4 had 1,650 registrations for the month, which was good enough for 10th place on the list of best-selling EVs.