Tesla faces new competition every day, but its lead in the U.S. luxury field just keeps growing. According to Experian
EXPGY,
+2.64%,
Americans registered 179,574 new Tesla
TSLA,
+0.74%
vehicles in the first five months of 2022. That’s a 66% increase over 2021 numbers from the same period. BMW
BMW,
+1.26%
took second, with 133,209 new registrations — an 11% drop. Lexus came in third, at 112,296 — a decline of 19%.
Those aren’t numbers for electric cars. They’re numbers for cars. Tesla became America’s best-selling luxury automaker in the fourth quarter of 2021. Its lead over the field appears to be growing. Don’t miss: Car quality is slipping: These are the brands with the most and least complaints, study finds Its lead in the electric vehicle sales race is also secure. Americans registered more Tesla Model Y SUVs than any other electric car — 82,880. The Tesla Model 3 came in a comfortable second, at 74,092. Third place? The Ford
F,
+4.30%
Mustang Mach-E at 15,491. Automakers debuted several impressive new EVs this year. But so far, they’ve barely dented Tesla’s sales crown. The new Hyundai
HYMTF,
+1.03%
Ioniq 5, for instance, won the 2022 World Car of the Year title. But Americans registered just 10,776 of them in the first three months of the year. The similar Kia EV6
000270,
+1.26%
earned 9,508 registrations – just 11% of the Model Y’s number. Don’t miss: Twitter sues Elon Musk, calls attempt to end $44 billion deal ‘a model of hypocrisy’Why registration numbers, not sales figures? Calculating Tesla’s numbers is slightly complicated. Most automa …