Tesla sales in Europe fall for the fifth consecutive month amid increasing competition
Kyiv • UNN
New Tesla car sales in Europe fell by 27.9% in May, while overall electric car sales in the region rose by 27.2%. The decline is attributed to competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles and protests against Elon Musk's policies.
New Tesla car sales in Europe fell by 27.9% in May year-on-year, while overall electric car sales in the region jumped by 27.2%, and the updated Model Y of the American electric car manufacturer has not yet shown signs of a brand revival, UNN writes with reference to Reuters.
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Overall car sales in Europe rose by 1.9%, with hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles providing the largest growth, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Tesla's sales in Europe have been falling for the fifth month in a row, as customers switch to cheaper Chinese electric cars and, in some cases, protest against Tesla CEO Elon Musk's policies.
Tesla's share of the European market fell to just 1.2% in May from 1.8% a year earlier.
The updated Model Y is designed to update the company's outdated model range, as traditional automakers and Chinese competitors are rapidly launching electric vehicles amid trade tensions.
May sales of new cars in the EU, Great Britain and the European Free Trade Association rose to 1.11 million cars after falling by 0.3% in April, according to ACEA data.
Registrations of the Chinese state-owned company SAIC Motor and the German BMW increased by 22.5% and 5.6% respectively, while those of the Japanese Mazda fell by 23%.
In the EU alone, total car sales fell by 0.6% this year.
This is happening despite the growing demand for electric vehicles, with registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and hybrid-electric (HEV) vehicles increasing by 26.1%, 15% and 19.8% respectively.
Sales of BEV, HEV) and PHEV in the EU together reached 58.9% of passenger car registrations in May, compared to 48.9% in May 2024.
Among the largest EU markets, new car sales in Spain and Germany increased by 18.6% and 1.2% respectively, while in France and Italy they fell by 12.3% and 0.1%.
In Great Britain, the number of registrations increased by 1.6%.