Tesla sales in Europe fell by nearly 45% last month, leading the firm to its lowest February market share in five years (1.6%), according to industry analyst Jato Dynamics.
This drop meant electric cars from Chinese-owned brands outsold those from the American firm, at 19,800 compared with 15,737. Most notable among them was Volvo, with 6529.
Jato attributed Tesla's volume drop to increasing competition in the EV market and a slowdown in production of its best-seller, the Model Y crossover, as factories swap over to the facelifted version.
It noted that Tesla is particularly vulnerable to sales dips during such times, because the bulk of its sales come from just two cars, the Model Y and Model 3 saloon.
It added that CEO Elon Musk’s “increasingly active role in politics” could be to blame but “the decline in the brand’s overall sales is more firmly rooted in the Model Y changeover”.
Meanwhile, registrations of BYD and Polestar EVs in Europe rose by 94% and 84% to 3893 and 2405.
A total of 966,271 new cars left showrooms across Europe last month, down 2.5% on February 2024.
Small, affordable cars led the market: the Dacia Sandero was the best-seller, with 21,604 registrations, followed by the Citroën C3 with 18,540 and the Renault Clio with 18,348.
EVs’ market share rose from 13% a year ago to 17%, with 164,168 sales. The best-sellers were the Model Y (8790), Model 3 (6834), Volkswagen ID 4 (6172) and new Renault 5 (5659).
Notably, several of Volkswagen’s EVs surged up the charts compared with a year ago. The ID 4 was up by 150% year on year and the ID 3 was up by 114%.
Meanwhile, the ID 7, which wasn't on sale a year ago, took fifth place, with 5432 sales.
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