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Netherlands December 2019: Tesla Model 3 breaks all-time monthly volume record

The Tesla Model 3 has sold a record 12.062 units in December in the Netherlands.

01/01/20 update:

It’s official, the Tesla Model 3 has broken the all-time monthly record volume in the Netherlands. The 12.062 units it shifted in December narrowly edge past the 12.052 units sold by the Peugeot 308 in December 2015 which was the previous record. This is also, and by far, the largest volume hit by the Model 3 outside of the U.S., the previous record being 5.786 here too in the Netherlands last September.

Rushed Dutch registrations of Tesla Model 3 straight from their port of entry in Rotterdam have reached a feverish peak during the last few days of the month, with the electric car breaking its daily sales record twice further: on 27th Dec (725) and 28th Dec (982). As we’ve explained numerous times before, the December figure doesn’t correspond to buyers suddenly rushing to Tesla dealerships but they are rather deliveries of orders made sometimes years ago, processed as fast as possible in December to not only bolster Elon Musk’s Quarterly reports but also to benefit from an advantageous tax regime expiring at the end of the year in the Netherlands.

19/12/19 original article:

End-of-quarters mean Elon Musk is busy shipping and registering as many pre-ordered Tesla Model 3 as possible to make its Quarterly Reports look the best and try and nudge a second straight quarterly profit after 15 consecutive years of losses. This filling up has already reached record proportions in the Netherlands, with both previous sales record by month (5.786 in September) and day (535 on 26th September) broken.

The Model 3 beat its Dutch daily sales record twice in December: 649 last Monday (16/12) and and 678 last Tuesday (17/12), meaning the monthly total after just 17 days is a new record 5.898. This is also the largest monthly volume achieved by the Model 3 outside of the US.

It is however not the largest ever monthly volume by any vehicle in the Netherlands, this highmark being the property of the Peugeot 308 at 12.052 units in December 2015. If the Model 3 continues at the same 650-unit per day rhythm as the past two days (with a little help from Santa Claus delivering the cars under the Christmas tree), it is headed towards 11.000 sales for December. Not quite the record, but close. The suspense remains intact…

Many thanks to Hans Van Bennekom for keeping us informed day-by-day.

Previous month: Netherlands November 2019: Tesla Model 3 back in charge in market up 13.6%

One year ago: Netherlands December 2018: Jaguar i-Pace holds 13.1% share

This Post Has 11 Comments
  1. Dear Matt, in 1010 we weren’t around,
    guess 3030 will be tight,
    but 2020 is in the bag – my very BEST WISHES!

    As to the Model 3 frenzy in the Netherlands, 2019 ended with a bang. Better, EV sales in general did. Top 6 is all electric! A first. Best selling ICE: the new Renault Captur (quite a looker).

    Other strong EV sellers: Kona 1300 units, Leaf >1000 units, Zoe >1000 units, E-Tron 2600 units (!). One distinct difference between M3’s performance and that of the other EV’s: M3 are actual sales. with real owners driving away fresh batteriy packs. Many E-Tron’s are parked on dealer lots. I have no doubt though they all will find an owner …. happy with a huge discount

      1. There are hundreds of E-Trons with zero mileage for sale on car sales sites, where there are hardly any for the Model 3.

    1. Best M3 day yet: Dec 27, 711 units. Dec total M3 9400 units, with 2 days left. Add 400 S and X, and the brand already achieved 10.000 in a single month.

  2. I can only agree with Matt’s article. The Model 3 frenzy in the Netherlands makes headlines, even though the Low Lands have seen an- end-of-year-spike before with the Peugeot 308 (SW) and Mits Outlander PHEV.

    What makes the Model 3 craze stand out is M3’s price point. With >$60.000 a piece for a model the Dutch normally don’t aspire (sedan), we’re talking serious money. Another reason the Model 3 is ‘the talk of the town’ pertains to HOW new owners take delivery of their new battery powered Musk Mobile:

    On a huge, desolate windy harbor terminal, waiting in a ramshackle site office with lukewarm coffee in a plastic cup. After a long wait, the novice owners get a number and a key and start walking. Out there, between hundreds of gray, white and black Model 3’s the search starts …… in several cases ending into a sobering encounter the moment they find their dusty, scratched wheels!

    PS: yesterday, things briefly cooled off. “Only” 450 new M’s were picked up. .

    1. Thanks Rick 🙂
      Wow – sounds like a Western or Italian mafia movie. Add tense music and I’d nearly want to buy one just for the kicks! :))

      1. “Shoot out at Elon Corral”! Epic outcome. Logically Pinkerton Matt turned out victorious, leaving many Cheyenne men and Wolfsburg outlaws bite the dust. Score: Ennio Morricone. Screenplay: Rick M (not .usk!) 😉

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