Cars
Published in July 19, 2020 |
by Paul Fosse
July 19, 2020 by Paul Fosse
Today we found out that Tesla pulled out another demand lever on its best-selling vehicle. (Well, it’s expected to be Tesla’s best-selling vehicle soon in the United States, but that’s not confirmed.)
Tesla has done several things to increase demand for Model Y after launching it onto the market earlier than expected earlier this year. You’ve pulled these demand levers much faster than on Model 3. Some of these things include adding a trailer hitch, adding the car to your referral program, recently implementing a small price cut, and now offering a lease option. .
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Model Y was even offering a shorter estimated delivery time than Model 3, which has been produced for about 3 years. In that article, I mentioned the lack of a lease option as one of the 4 reasons why demand would be slightly lower for Model Y. Tesla consumers lease at a much lower rate than other brands’ consumers ( more about that at the bottom of the article), but a market share certainly expects this option.
Lack of the more affordable version of Standard Range (or Standard Range Plus) was another option mentioned, but that can no longer be considered a lever waiting on the wings as Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that a version of Standard Range of Model Y is not However, instead, in a few months a slightly more affordable long-range rear-drive Y-model should be available.
I set up a Model 3 at the same price as the lower-priced Model Y ($ 49,990) and interestingly enough, the lease payment was $ 14 higher. It appears that they are using psychological pricing to make lease prices a little more attractive on Model Y. A lease that starts at $ 499 sounds better than a lease that starts at $ 513.
Comparison with Lexus RX Lease
The Lexus RX is king of sales in the luxury crossover market, making it one of the first vehicles I compared the Model Y to when it came out in March.
Last week, we compared the RX’s total cost of ownership to the Model Y, and the highly desirable Model Y stood out heavily. Maybe that’s the reason Toyota is so shy about launching its Q2 sales – the Model Y likely took a big bite out of the Lexus volume leader. In the first quarter of 2020, the Lexus RX was by far its best-selling vehicle, accounting for approximately 30% of its sales volume. We do not know how many RX units were sold in the second quarter.
So how do the two models compare when it comes to leasing?
For those just looking at the lease payment, Lexus seems cheaper at $ 409 a month compared to the Tesla Model Y at $ 499 a month, but our Total Cost of Ownership model suggests it could save more than $ 120 a month in maintenance costs and $ 125 a month in fuel costs. (Enter your own assumptions on that Google sheet after duplicating it.)
Image from the website of my local Lexus dealer.
Model Y is much more sporty, has more luggage space and has a lower cost of ownership. Is it any wonder if this new Tesla model is dethroning the leader?
Editor’s Note on Lease: Tesla reported that 5% of its sales in the second quarter were subject to lease accounting, and the figure was 4% for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles (reported combined). CleanTechnica writer Frugal Moogal noted that “the average automaker leases about 30% of its vehicle sales.”
If you decide to order a Tesla, use a friend’s referral code to get 1,000 free Supercharging miles on a Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3 and now Model Y (you can’t use it on Cybertruck yet). Now it’s also worth $ 100 off solar panels or a sunroof! If you don’t have friends with a Tesla, use mine: https://ts.la/paul92237
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About the Author
Paul Fosse Software engineer for over 30 years, he first developed EDI software and then developed data storage systems. Along the way, I also had the opportunity to help start a software consulting company and manage the portfolio. In 2010, I became interested in electric cars because gas was becoming expensive. In 2015, I started reading CleanTechnica and became interested in solar energy, mainly because it was a threat to my investments in oil and gas. Follow me on Twitter @ atj721 Tesla investor. Tesla Reference Code: https://ts.la/paul92237
