Who prefers a Model 3 station wagon?

[RobStark]

Gen III will offer a Model 3 liftback and a CUV variant maybe called Model Y.

CUVs are becoming increasingly popular in Europe, especially with AWD. and in China as well.

Tesla is not BMW where they can afford to fit every single niche. Liftback and CUV will cover 95% of the station wagon/estate market.


SUVs And CUVs Gaining Ground - HybridCars.com

America is not the only area enamored with the SUV concept. Utility vehicle sales are expanding rapidly in many of the world’s fastest-growing markets – including Europe and China – according to a Ford analysis of data from IHS Automotive, which forecasts market information and competitive data on the automotive industry.

According to these numbers, worldwide demand for utility vehicles is up 88 percent since 2008, making SUVs the fastest-growing segment. Utility vehicles now account for 19 percent of the global automotive market, with the segment expanding at more than three times the rate of the vehicle industry overall.

In Europe, stated Ford, the utility vehicle segment grew from 9 percent market share in 2008 to 19 percent in 2013. Sales of the Ford Kuga, known as the Escape in North America, increased 33 percent for the full 2013 sales year in Euro 20 markets, and also reached record levels January through September 2014.

To capitalize on the utility segment’s strength in Europe, Ford introduced the EcoSport earlier this year, and an all-new 2015 Ford Edge goes on sale there in late 2015. Both the Edge and the EcoSport are new entries for Ford in Europe.

Ford’s story is similar in China, where interest in utility vehicles drove the segment from 7 percent of industry sales in 2008 to 17 percent in 2013. Ford’s overall sales growth in China – the largest market in the world – is said to be robust. The Canadian-built Ford Edge launched in China in January 2011, with three more utilities – Ford Explorer, Kuga and EcoSport – debuting there in 2013.

 

[Yggdrasill]

I think the Model 3 will combine the best of a hatchback with the best of a station wagon, like the Model X combines the best of an SUV and a minivan.
Most likely the Model 3 will look like a hatchback, but will have the capacity of a station wagon. This configuration would be very popular in Europe and hopefully in the US as well. What do you think about this?

If it's possible to do, it should do well in Europe. I'm not so sure it's possible to get the space without a station wagon -type shape.

I would be shocked if they offered a sedan option at all. If they didn't make the Model S a sedan, it would make no sense to have the smaller Model 3 be a sedan.

I can't see any reason to have a sedan of any size. But they seem to be popular in the US, and Tesla is a US company, so there's certainly a possibility they might go for a sedan.

The Model 3 will certainly be launched as a hatchback which is essentially the same a station wagon, IMO.

Well, there are differences. I could use my i30 station wagon as an example - it's a compact car with a maximum cargo volume of 65 cubic feet. The Model S has 63.4 cubic feet, including the frunk. This is from a car that's 20" shorter and 16" narrower.

If the Model 3 would have a maximum cargo volume significantly less than my i30 CW, it would certainly be less relevant for me.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Gen III will offer a Model 3 liftback and a CUV variant maybe called Model Y.

CUVs are becoming increasingly popular in Europe, especially with AWD. and in China as well.

Tesla is not BMW where they can afford to fit every single niche. Liftback and CUV will cover 95% of the station wagon/estate market.

I'll agree a CUV will fill much of the same niche as a station wagon. A CUV is after all basically a station wagon with more ground clearence, usually AWD, and beefier styling.

 

[RobStark]

I'll agree a CUV will fill much of the same niche as a station wagon. A CUV is after all basically a station wagon with more ground clearence, usually AWD, and beefier styling.

IF you buy GEN III CUV with air suspension and put it on low that is virtually a station wagon.

But it makes the average American feel better that they are not buying a "mommy" car but an "active lifestyle" car.