Tesla's sales fell sharply in Europe in January, indicating a decline in demand for the American automaker's cars after its billionaire CEO Elon Musk “stepped up his intervention in the region's politics,” the Financial Times reports, according to UNN.
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The electric vehicle maker sold just 9,900 units in Europe last month, down 45 percent from the same period in 2024, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The overall share of new car registrations for this manufacturer fell to 1 percent from 1.8 percent in the same period.
The drop in Tesla's market share is said to have followed Musk's “unprecedented foray into EU politics, where he endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party before the country's elections, sparking a backlash across the continent.” Musk, as noted, has also “spoken out against the EU,” which he called “undemocratic” in November.
The drop came even as European consumers purchased 166,000 battery electric vehicles in the month, up 37 percent from a year ago. Net sales of electric vehicles grew faster than sales of all other types of vehicles, while sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles fell by 20.5 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively.
These figures include markets in the EU, the UK, and others, including Norway, one of the largest EV markets in Europe.
European sales of SAIC Motor, the Chinese state-owned automaker that has expanded into the EU and partnered with Audi in China, rose 37 percent to 23,000 vehicles in January, one of the largest year-over-year sales increases of any major manufacturer in the region.
The total number of new vehicle registrations on the continent fell by 2.1 percent in January to 995,271.