That's one reason why Southern California, with its Eternal Spring/Summer temperatures, has long been a hotbed for electric vehicles.

 

Its seems like Tesla is hurting BMW, Toyota, and Honda more than any other manufacturer. Unsurprisingly, it hurts Lexus the least...probably due to Lexus owners having reliability at the top of their concerns.

Tesla’s Model 3 is luring customers away from luxury brands like BMW and Audi

One of the more intriguing aspects surrounding Tesla’s ongoing success is how that success continues to impact traditional automakers. As a prime example, it’s no secret that the allure of Tesla’s Model S lured away buyers who were otherwise keen on purchasing a Porsche. Notably, this isn’t even a point of contention as Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer admitted as much a few years ago.

“We have lots of respect for Tesla,” Zellmer said during a 2017 interview, “and, yes, I’m sure there are some Porsche customers, that in terms of connectivity, digital stuff in the car and electric battery in the vehicles, didn’t find the car that they wanted with Porsche so they bought somewhere else.”

All that said, it stands to reason that Tesla’s Model 3 — which sells in much higher volume than the Model S — is having an even greater impact across the automotive industry.

In light of that, Bloomberg recently ran an exhaustive survey of 5,000 Model 3 owners where, among other things, they gleaned a lot of information about the type of buyers that gravitate towards the Model 3. Suffice it to say, the results were surprising.

While one would expect the Model 3 to lure customers away from economy cars from the likes of Toyota, the survey found that the Model 3 is also luring away customers from luxury brands like BMW and Audi. Sure, this is to be expected with the pricey Model S, but the Model 3 has long been positioned as an EV for the masses as opposed to a luxury vehicle.

“Car customers are fairly predictable,” Bloomberg notes. “They stick with vehicles that are similar to the ones they drove before. Brand loyalties are even passed down across generations. Tesla, so far, has broken these loyalties with the allure of new technology, high performance, and environmental sustainability.”

The chart below speaks volumes:

Image Source: Bloomberg

Another interesting tidbit revealed by the survey is that the luxury manufacturers least likely to be impacted by the Model 3 include Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.

Tesla has certainly faced its share of issues as it pertains to vehicle durability and build quality, but the fact remains that Tesla owners — on the whole — remain exceedingly strong proponents of their cars, the company as a whole, and ultimately happen to be a group of enthusiastic, passionate, and persuasive brand ambassadors that money simply can’t buy.

Bloomberg’s survey — which includes testimonials from new Model 3 owners — is incredibly eye-opening and definitely worth checking out in its entirety.

 

Looks to me like Tesla is stealing customers away from the bread and butter models of the top auto makers. On the Prius I'd say it's all but dead EV's will replace it in short order so Toyota better get their act together and have something for their loyal customers.

 

That's an interesting chart. Note the average selling price of each model and that the Model 3 probably averages around $50k or so. Not only are people ditching some very popular models from very big brands, they're paying a premium to move to Tesla. Pretty telling.

 

Lexus will get also get caught in the Tesla Crosshairz once the Model Y releases. I'm personally deliberating buying one over a new RX350 once our present RX350 lease is up.

 

Looks like some former Model S owners are trading down.

 

The model Y is even uglier than the Model X, I didn't think anything could be uglier, maybe the Aztek.

 

Eye of the beholder. The current RX is probably the ugliest vehicle on the road.

 

I will definitely look at a model y when it comes out.

 

Not surprising, the parking garage at the office (shared building) has quite a few Tesla 3's now compared to a year ago. The building management team also installed charging stations.

 

The amount going from the Model S to Model 3 is surprising.

 

That was my first reaction, too, although perhaps equally surprising is the numbers of Civics and Mazda3s being traded.

 

BMW is the one thats being hurt the most with the Model 3 eating the sales of the 3 series. This attack on BMW will only get worse when the Model Y begins to eat the sales of the X3. BMW should be in full panic mode as they got caught with their pants down.

 

maybe, but IMO not really. The Model 3 is a small car like the Civic and Mazda3. It's an upgrade in terms of technology and performance for an 'upscale' name. The real question is why are Model S owners trading down to the Model 3?? That's not a knock against the Model 3, but its certainly not as nice inside as the Model S. I find it perplexing

 

The answer is very obvious some Model S buyers purchased a car that would normally be above their price range because the S was the only desirable EV. When it came time to get a new car they went with the 3, more in their wheelhouse. Model S sales were never going to maintain what they did at the beginning it was pent up demand. The S still sells well considering the price point.