Tesla's electric car sales in Europe fell further in February, while German brands Volkswagen and BMW rose. Electric cars from Chinese manufacturers also increased sales. BYD and BEV Polestar are the top performers in European markets. Reuters reports.
Elon Musk's electric cars have recently been put to the test of loyalty in Europe after the close ally of US President Donald Trump openly supported far-right parties on the continent, including publishing at least two dozen posts on his X platform promoting the German party Alternative fur Deutschland.
According to Felipe Muñoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, Musk's role in politics, increasing competition in the electric car market and the lack of a major update to his best-selling Model Y have affected sales. “Brands like Tesla, with a relatively limited model range, are particularly vulnerable”, notes Muñoz.
Tesla's electric vehicle registrations in 25 markets in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland fell by an average of 44% compared to the same month in 2024, reaching less than 16,000 vehicles sold in February.
Tesla's market share fell to 9.6% in the last month of winter. This is the lowest February value for the automaker in the last five years.
At the same time, Volkswagen's electric vehicle sales increased by 180% and amounted to more than 20,000 vehicles, while the BMW and Mini brands together sold almost 19,000 electric vehicles in February.
As JATO Dynamics notes, Chinese brands have collectively sold more electric vehicles than Tesla. BYD and Polestar BEV sales in the same markets rose 94% and 84% to more than 4,000 and over 2,000 vehicles respectively. Xpeng sold more than 1,000 vehicles and Leapmotor sold nearly 900.
Total car sales in the 25 markets of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland fell 3% in February to 0.97 million, while the number of electric car registrations increased 25%.