Tesla's sales rout in some European markets extends to eighth month

Registrations of new Tesla cars in France were down 47.3% in August from August 2024, while the overall car market grew nearly 2.2%, data showed on Monday

Tesla's sales rout this year in a number of European markets continued in August amid fierce competition from China's BYD and a backlash against CEO Elon Musk, although Norway, Spain and Portugal bucked the trend. 

Tesla has a small lineup and has not released a new mass-market model since the Model Y in 2020, while new Chinese rivals and traditional automakers alike are flooding the market with fresh models. 

Registrations of new Tesla cars in France were down 47.3 per cent in August from August 2024, while the overall car market grew nearly 2.2 per cent, data showed on Monday. 

Tesla registrations fell more than 84 per cent in Sweden - where electric vehicle sales were flat and the overall market was up 6 per cent - and dropped 42 per cent in Denmark. Tesla registrations were down 50 per cent in the Netherlands and 4.4 per cent in Italy. 

Norway, where Tesla has deep roots and virtually all new car sales are electric, saw a 21.3 per cent jump in registrations for the US EV maker. But BYD's registrations jumped 218 per cent. 

UNCONVINCING RISES IN TESLA SALES IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL  After seven months of declines, Tesla's registrations in Portugal rose 28.7 per cent in August. And in Spain, which provides EV subsidies of up to 7,000 euros ($8,200), Tesla's sales rose 161 per cent to 1,435 cars from 549 in August 2024. But BYD's sales rose more than 400 per cent to 1,827 cars. 

In the year so far, BYD's sales in Spain have surged 675 per cent to 14,181 cars, while Tesla's sales have risen 11.6 per cent to 9,303 vehicles. 

"Disappointing Tesla volumes can partially be attributed to a more competitive market environment," said Matthias Schmidt, European autos market analyst at Schmidt Automotive. 

Schmidt said Musk's insistence during an investor call in July that "there are no issues with Tesla volumes on the European market", when its market share in western Europe fell to 1.7 per cent in the first half of the year from 2.5 per cent in 2024, made him sound "delusional". 

Earlier this year Tesla representatives in Europe argued that the sales decline was largely because production was shifting to a revamped version of the Model Y that had been Europe's top-selling car in 2023. 

Deliveries began across much of Europe in June, but Model Y sales were down 46.5 per cent in Denmark in August and 87 per cent in Sweden. 

PRICE CUTS FUEL SECONDHAND MARKET 

Tesla's competitive problems have been compounded by Musk's politics - he helped bankroll Donald Trump's US presidential election win last year and has championed European far-right parties - which have sparked a fierce consumer backlash. 

Ginny Buckley, CEO of the EV advice website Electrifying.com, said Musk's influence on the brand had become "increasingly polarizing". 

Over half of those surveyed by Electrifying.com said Musk was putting them off buying a Tesla, signalling that "Tesla's dominance is no longer a given". 

Andy Leyland, co-founder of supply chain specialist SC Insights, said sales were also being undermined by the low cost of secondhand Tesla EVs since it slashed the price of new cars dramatically in 2023. 

Marketcheck, which collects used vehicle data in Britain, said that sales of used Teslas hit a record in July, jumping 270 per cent, while the average price of a used Model Y hit a new low, down 41 per cent in two years.