Tesla has broken a new record for vehicle deliveries, claiming it delivered 139,300 vehicles globally July through September of 2020, according to preliminary counts released Friday morning.
That Q3 result is up dramatically versus 2020 Q1 and Q2 numbers, which were 88,400 and 90,650, respectively. It also handily beat the previous record of 112,000 deliveries in Q4 of 2019.
Production reported for the quarter that just ended was higher than the 145,036 vehicles Tesla delivered for the quarter. That included combined production at Tesla’s Fremont, California, plant and in China.
The Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover made up 124,100 of deliveries for the quarter, while the larger, more expensive Model S and Model Y accounted for 15,200 deliveries.
Although Tesla doesn’t release U.S.-specific numbers, the all-electric automaker continues to buck the prevailing trend elsewhere in the auto industry in multiple ways.
2020 Tesla Model Y
Tesla remains an exception to a year in which auto sales have been down significantly, even compared to the somewhat reduced levels that were originally predicted, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many auto brands reported a rebound in U.S. auto sales in September, but the vast majority of them were down by double-digit percentages for the quarter year-over-year.
Earlier this year there was much speculation about whether electric-vehicle sales would perk up during the pandemic—relative to the whole—or whether the market hesitation would hit EVs harder. Based on this and other automakers recently reporting strong plug-in sales, we have a clear picture that buyers are emerging from the pandemic with sustainability and emissions in mind.
According to a Detroit News report, inventory has remained unbalanced at the franchised dealerships of traditional full-line automakers, and stock of new 2021 model-year vehicles is running behind where it usually is at this time in the year.
Given Tesla’s completely different direct sales model and production numbers beating deliveries, it appears that Tesla doesn’t have any such issue.
