Tesla’s European EV Sales Plummet, Lagging Behind Rivals

sales in Europe have fallen in February behind legacy brand Volkswagen and the , as well as rivals from China, data by research platform showed on Monday.

Elon Musk’s all-electric brand is facing a loyalty test in Europe after the close ally of U.S. President openly supported far-right parties in the continent, including with at least two dozen posts on his X platform promoting Germany’s Alternative fur Deutschland.

Musk’s role in politics, rising competition in the EV market and the phasing out of the existing version of its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y, have all impacted sales, Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a report.

“Brands like , which have a relatively limited model lineup, are particularly vulnerable to registration declines when undertaking a model changeover,” Munoz said.

Tesla’s battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in 25 European Union markets, the UK, Norway and Switzerland fell on average by 44% from the same month of 2024, to under 16,000 cars sold in February. Its market share in the month fell to 9.6%, the lowest February reading in the last five years.

By comparison, Volkswagen’s BEV sales were up 180% to under 20,000 cars, while the BMW brand and BMW-owned Mini, combined, sold almost 19,000 BEVs in February, the data showed.

Chinese-owned brands, combined, also sold more electric cars than Tesla, JATO Dynamics said.

BYD’s and Polestar’s BEV sales in the same markets were up respectively 94% and 84% to over 4,000 and over 2,000 cars. Xpeng sold over 1,000 cars and Leapmotor almost 900.

BEV sales at Geely-owned Volvo and SAIC-owned MG, instead, dropped by 30% and 67% respectively, the data showed.

Total car sales in 25 European Union markets, the UK, Norway and Switzerland dropped by 3% to 0.97 million in February, while BEV registrations were up by 25%.

(This story has been picked from a syndicate wire feed and remains unedited by Times Now)

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