In 2021, the number of luxury car registrations in the United States, BMW barely killed Tesla

Cox Automotive's 2021 sales estimates show Tesla ahead of BMW with 352,471 U.S. deliveries.

Data firm Experian said bmw group registered 347,453 new cars in the United States in 2021 and Tesla 342,412, a gap of only 5,000.

BMW and Tesla are ahead of Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.

It has been a fierce competition.

Tesla will have the opportunity to topple traditional rivals this year, with new factories in Texas ramping up production of the Model Y, Tesla's best-selling model.

According to Experian, Tesla's registrations have soared by 71% compared to 2020, and BMW's registrations have increased by 24% year-on-year. These figures show that into 2022, Tesla's development momentum is very rapid.

Globally, Tesla's sales at its California and China factories rose 87 percent last year to 936,172 units.

But for various reasons, sales and numbers are not perfect. Analysts say vehicles sold in one month can be registered in another month, and some registration data may include estimates when accurate numbers are not available. Some industry insiders even estimate that Tesla's sales in 2021 will be higher than BMW's.

BMW's own sales data shows deliveries last year were 336,644 units. Lexus said it sold 304,475 vehicles, with Mercedes-Benz reporting official deliveries of 276,102.

"Tesla dominates not only the electric car market, but also the entire luxury car market, surpassing Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz in the United States." Cox Motor Company said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk estimates that the company's global sales will grow by at least 50 percent this year as the Berlin and Austin, Texas, plants come on stream in the first half of 2022.

Other details in the report include:

The Model Y was the best-selling electric vehicle in the U.S. market last year, with 169,325 registered units;

The Model 3 ranked second in electric vehicle sales with 151,599 registrations;

Ford Mustang Mach-E in third place with 25,695 units;

Chevrolet Bolt came in fourth with 23,078 vehicles;

California is by far the largest state in the U.S. in terms of electric vehicle registrations, with 169,995 new registrations for all brands, an 80 percent increase over 2020.

Texas, home to Tesla's headquarters after it moved out of California last year, has only 28,818 registrations.