Tesla has an annual goal of selling 55,000 electric vehicles in 2015. It has sold about 20,000 units for its Model S sedan during the first two quarters of this year, and has received pre-orders of 20,000 units for its upcoming Model X crossover SUV set to roll out to the markets this coming September.
Around this time, 40,000 units are pretty much in the bag for Tesla and it has a good six more months to selling or pre-selling 15,000 units and the company is confident that it can do so and meet its target deliveries for the year.
The good news is that more than the expected additional Model S units to be sold for the remainder of the year, Tesla is actually optimistic that a good portion of the balance from the given target will be provided for by the Model M.
In fact, as a result of the massive pre-order on the Model X, Tesla has reportedly increased production rates at its Fremont manufacturing facility in California, reports Bidness ETC.
Strong demand
Accordingly, the strong demand for the Tesla Model X is an offshoot of the American’s renewed interest in crossover SUVs which has also been considered by the electric car manufacturer when it ventured into the segment.
The other major factor is the strong preference of most women drivers towards crossover SUVs as well. With the Tesla Model X, the company is actually eyeing an underseved but rapidly growing target market of women owners of crossover SUVs.
According to Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, more than half of the 20,000 reservations that they got for Tesla Model X came from women as they have recently become more active as car buyers.
This was obvious from statistics from J.D. Power which indicate that women actually accounted for 40% of all car and trucks sales in 2014, which is up from 36% from five years ago.
A recent research conducted by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers also reported that women spend about $300 billion every year on purchasing and maintaining vehicles. That’s quite a big market that would surely water the mouth of any serious car manufacturer.
According to the company, the Tesla Model X was actually designed by engineers with women drivers and owners in mind. The vehicle actually caters to women’s needs and the design was based primarily on the results of the focus group discussion with women conducted last year.
No more pushing back
After being delayed by a year, the Tesla Model X will finally be hitting the retail markets in September this year, unless the company comes up again with another aberration or excuse to push back the long-awaited market debut of its sport utility crossover electric vehicle.