Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) certainly has a very specific target demographic. It turns out that about 83% of the people who own the company’s Model S sedan are men. A study conducted by Edmunds shows that men are the biggest percentage of owners of many of the top luxury auto brands.
Tesla makes the list
The study (via MarketWatch) gives the ten vehicle types which have the largest percentage of male ownership. Lamborghini is at the top, with 93% male ownership. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) happens to be tenth on the list, and seven of the other eight vehicle brands on this list are luxury brands, with the Dodge Ram truck being the one exception.
Women like value
Of course this study doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know. Men like fancy cars. But what exactly do women like? As it turns out, women seem to look for value more than prestige (there’s another shocker). The fuel-efficient Mini is at the top of the list in terms of percentage owned by women, although it’s still only about half.
Of course there is a big problem with this study in that it may be skewed because of vehicles registered to married couples. Just because a vehicle is registered only to a husband or wife doesn’t mean that they are the main driver of that vehicle.
Tesla can create value
The Edmunds study found that about three-quarters of women take fuel efficiency into account when buying a vehicle, compared to only about half of men. This statistic is interesting for Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) because it could mean that this won’t be a nearly male-only brand for long. Personally, I’d love to own a Tesla, mainly because of the fuel efficiency. The sleek styling of the car is sort of an added bonus for someone who truly appreciates her less-than stunning bubble-like Toyota Prius because of its high gas mileage. Unfortunately I’d have to fight my husband to drive the Tesla though because it’s also a beautiful car.
So if and when Tesla’s mass market vehicle hits the streets, will more women buy it than men? Of course part of this question will be in looks, because the study does indicate that men tend to be vainer about how their car looks than women do.
