Comparison of the cost of ownership of a BMW 3 Series and a Tesla MIC Model 3 in China

According to data on vehicle imports in China in the first nine months of this year, China imported 45,000 new electric cars, an increase of 179.9% compared to the same period last year. Tesla Model 3 accounted for 32,700 units, which is 72% of the total. Of course, Model 3 is definitely the main force, it is very popular in China.

That is why it was so important to enable consumers in China to buy Teslas at more favorable prices compared to prices of the imported from USA cars. Thanks to the awareness of the whole situation, Tesla built Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. This is what allowed the company to lower prices for its products for Chinese consumers.

The first deliveries of Tesla made in China Model 3 will begin very soon. The company plans to do this before the start of the Spring Festival.
“We are making an effort to gradually deliver before the Spring Festival to let our customers drive our China-built Model 3 sedans back home for the holidays,” Tesla said in response to a Bloomberg query. The Spring Festival, a weeklong holiday marking the lunar new year, begins January 25.

Since the Tesla Model 3 costs 355,800 yuan ($ 50,569), its competitor in this price segment is the BMW 3 Series, with an estimated cost of 346,900 yuan ($ 49,304). Well, let's look at the cost of owning a Tesla Model 3 and a BMW 3 Series.

Photo: bmw3blog

Compared to the BMW 3 Series, the domestic Tesla Model 3 doesn't have any additional fees, such as loan servicing fees, boutique clearance costs and listing fees due to the direct sales model. However, with regard to the interest rate on the loan, with a down payment of 30% and a loan term of 36 month, the official interest rate of the domestic Tesla Model 3 is higher than that of the BMW 3 Series. Although the BMW 3 Series needs to pay purchase tax because the BMW 3 Series terminal has about 10% cash concessions, the actual total purchase price of the BMW 325Li M sports package is about 19,000 yuan ($2 700) lower than the domestic Tesla Model 3.

In the maintenance cycle, the Model 3 interval is 12,500 miles, which is twice as much as the 6,200 miles of the BMW 3 Series. As for the items of service, the Model 3, due to the fact that it is an electric model, will be more advantageous in maintenance than the BMW 3 Series.

Cost of service made in China Tesla Model 3 (in China):

• replacement of the air conditioning filter 1,700 yuan ($240);
• replacement of the air conditioning filter + brake oil 2500 yuan ($355);
• replacement of the air conditioning filter + brake oil + antifreeze 3300 yuan ($469);
• vehicle inspection. With a mileage of 60,000 kilometers (37,300 miles), you will have to spend only 5,900 yuan ($840) on the Tesla Model 3 for maintenance.

The BMW 3 Series service elements will be much more complicated:

an oil filter, an air filter,a gasoline filter and a spark plugs - all this is only for cars with gas-powered engine. In the first 60,000 kilometers (37,300 miles), the BMW 3 Series is expected to cost 17,411 yuan ($2,475), which is much higher than the Tesla Model 3 (almost 3 times).

Electricity costs are the biggest difference between the Tesla Model 3 and the BMW 3 Series.
For further calculations, it is assumed that the Tesla Model 3 uses publicly available Superchargers in 20% of cases and household charging in 80% of cases, and the actual power consumption per 100 kilometers (62 miles) is 15 kWh. As for Shanghai standards, the charge for Tesla Superchargers is about 2 yuan/kWh ($ 0.28), and the electricity charge for household charges is about 0.6 yuan/kWh ($ 0.08).
At the same time, the actual fuel consumption per 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the BMW 3 Series is about 9 liters (2.38 gallons), and the current octane-95 gasoline unit price in Shanghai is 7.15 yuan/liter ($ 3.861/gal).

Photo source: Bloomberg

So, with a mileage of 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles) per year, Tesla Model 3 is expected to save 10,000 yuan ($ 1,421) in charge compared to the BMW 3 Series.

The difference in energy and maintenance costs accurately determines the victory of the Tesla Model 3. If you drive more than 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles) per year, the benefits of Tesla Model 3 will become even more obvious.

And don't forget that the Tesla Model 3 accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds, while the BMW 325Li M in 8 seconds.

After all, with a mileage of 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles) per year, the Tesla Model 3 is expected to save more than 11,511 yuan ($ 1,636) in car maintenance compared to the BMW 325Li.
Therefore, it is obvious that for residents of China Tesla Model 3 will be a much more profitable option for ownership.

All estimated data provided by Sina Automotive