GetOffYourGas said:No, it is because the Leaf fits the desires of the Japanese and European markets much better. It is a small hatchback. And the shorter range is much more acceptable there than in the US. Sure, the Model 3 will compete strongly with the leaf in those markets, but the Model 3 has no bearing on which markets are better fit for the Leaf.evnow said:That's because Tesla just started selling 3 outside US.GetOffYourGas said:Yes, but the US is NOT the Leaf's main market. Not by a long shot. I was talking internationally.
It seems like many located in the U.S., cannot imagine that f.e. in Europe, things are different, and hatchbacks are by far the most popular bodystyle, while sedans have an image that you are a "square" if you drive a sedan. With the Tesla Model 3 being a sedan, of course there might still be some who just want to drive electric and do not mind the unpleasant bodystyle, still if people have a choice, in Europe they'd probably prefer a hatchback, a station wagon or an SUV (which basically has a shape of a larger hatchback).
If you look at the list of best selling vehicles, very few sedans can be found among them:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2018s-most-popular-cars-europe-market-segment
In Europe, most vehicles on the market are not even available in a sedan bodystyle. And for the ones that are, like VW Passat, Mercedes E-Class/S-Class etc, the station wagon body style outsells the sedan version by far. F.e. in Germany, 94.5% of Passats sold are station wagons, and 5.5% sedans.
In the view of most Europeans, sedans are just not very practical vehicles. They don't offer a lot of cargo space, which a hatchback or a station wagon of the same length would offer.