Tesla Model Y Becomes The 2022 Best-Selling Vehicle In The World By Revenue, 4th By Units Sold

Tesla first started selling electric vehicles in 2010, at the time, the first-generation Roadster was a big hit but was largely dismissed by skeptics as a toy for rich people. Most people saw the electric sports car as a product that would not compete with internal combustion vehicles in any meaningful way.

After that, Tesla started selling the Model S which was also a big hit, however, like the Roadster, the Model S was also regarded as a niche vehicle for the wealthy. Skeptics said the Model S is nice but Tesla can’t compete in the mass market.

Then Tesla released the Model 3 with a price point closer to the average new vehicle selling price in the US. You would think that will finally convince the naysayers however, now the argument changed to – the Model 3 is nice but there is no way Tesla can produce it in numbers that will make a dent in ICE vehicle sales.

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After a lot of pain, Tesla finally scaled Model 3 production to a rate of several hundred thousand vehicles a year. This was surely the end of Tesla is not a mass market producer argument however, there was one last argument that could still be made.

And the last argument was, the sedan market is a shrinking segment, no wonder Tesla was able to be successful in sedans however, Tesla won’t have a chance in the expanding crossover market.

And then came the Model Y. Currently Tesla is producing the Model Y in 4 factories on 4 continents. Tesla’s newest factory in Austin, Texas produces a refreshed version of the Model Y with 4680 cells and a structural battery pack together with the standard Model Y with 2170 cells.

However, Giga Texas is in its early days of ramping up the refreshed Model Y and as of now doesn’t make up any meaningful portion of Model Y sales for Tesla.

Still, even before the breakthrough developments in the new battery chemistry and architecture come into play, the current Model Y has been taking market share from its ICE competitors.

And today, according to a list of best-selling vehicles in the world for 2022 released by Focus2Move, Model Y, less than 3 years since starting deliveries, has already become the fourth best-selling vehicle in the world.

And the list is including both internal combustion vehicles and EVs. the 3 vehicles that outsold the Model Y are household names that have been selling for decades which are the Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV4, and Ford F-150.

Toyota Corolla took first place selling 1.12 units in 2022, Toyota RAV4 took second place selling 867,000 units, Ford F-150 came in third place selling 787,000 units, and at fourth place was Tesla Model Y selling 759,000 units.

This on its own is an amazing achievement on Tesla’s part, however, to put the cherry on top, due to the Model Y’s higher average selling price when compared to the competition, even though 4th in sales volume, the Model Y nonetheless took first place when it comes to the amount of revenue the vehicle generated.

NEWS: The @Tesla Model Y was the 4th bestselling car in the world in 2022 with ~758,605 cumulative sales.Model Y jumped 15 spots in the rankings from 2021 (+88%). It was also #1 in terms of revenue. Congrats Tesla team! @elonmusk(h/t @1stPrincipleInv)https://t.co/noxZIf8dhx— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 27, 2023

This marks the first time an EV has become the vehicle that generates the most amount of revenue. And on top of that, all three vehicles that outsold the Model Y saw their sales decrease in 2022 in the range of 2 to 13%.

On the other hand, the Model Y saw its sales grow 88% in the past year. In addition, Tesla was only able to ramp up Model Y production to a run rate of 150,000 vehicles a year at two of its newest factories each in the last month of the year.

This means, on top of the 750,000 Model Ys Tesla delivered in 2022, the EV maker has already installed the capacity to produce an additional 300,000 Model Ys in 2023 bringing the total to more than a million Model Ys a year.

Looking at this trend suggests, in 2023, the Model Y has a very good chance of dethroning the Toyota Corolla by becoming the best-selling vehicle by units sold in addition to revenue.

It’s exciting to imagine an EV becoming the overall best-selling vehicle as soon as this year. And we will be sure to keep you posted as Tesla ramps up vehicle production. Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.

So what do you think? Excited to learn the Model Y has become the best-selling vehicle in the world by revenue? Also, do you think, in 2023, the Model Y will become the best-selling vehicle in the world by units sold? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

For more information check out: The Tesla Model 3 Could Keep Going Down In Price

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.