Despite growing demand for EVs, Tesla’s market share in Europe will decline in May, but the pace of descent will slow down

New Aggregated Industry Data Published On Wednesday, vehicles were shown to have sank 28% across the continent in May compared to the previous year. It’s still a very steep drop, but the struggling brands are much worse, with the results showing the best monthly performance in 2025.

Tesla’s fledgling Robotax service in Austin, Texas, may now have grabbed all the headlines, but cautions are being taken to focus on the company’s core business when it issues global vehicle production and delivery numbers for the second quarter next week.

Tesla doesn’t break down regional volumes, but it’s no secret that Europe is the most challenging market. I’m trying to object.

So far, continental volume has dropped by 37%. April And then May. The brand’s issues in Europe represent a major lost opportunity for masks as it is the world’s second largest EV market after China.

On Wednesday, the European Auto Manufacturers Association ACEA published a monthly report on new vehicle registrations showing that the entire EV market has expanded at a 27% rate to reach 193,500 vehicles.

Nevertheless, the lobby group was disappointed when they considered the amount of investment their members had put into the EV sector. One of the six new vehicles registered during the period is powered only. This is the penetration rate that it claims to be “still far from where it is needed.”

June proves a pivotal month for Tesla

The main reason it’s not high is the low performance of EV Pioneer Tesla. Its Model Y, even in its refreshed form, is far beyond its prime and has to compete in an increasingly busy market with many options for buyers to choose from. These include rivals such as the Skoda El Rok Compact Crossover and affordable EV models of the larger Enyak brothers from the pro-VW group that are not offered in the US.

Tesla volume fell 28% in May, registering only 13,863 vehicles. This will reduce market share to 7.2%, dropping by 540 basis points in just one year.

NorwayScandinavia’s sparse, oil-rich country with annual car sales accounting for 1% of the total European market, is almost alone helping to stem Tesla’s collapse. If adjusted to reflect only the EU market (not including Norway), Tesla’s volume sinks by 40%, indicating that there is little progress.

Although ACEA has released the figures with a delay of nearly four weeks, its monthly report remains the most comprehensive, publicly available source of information on EV demand. It aggregates sales figures for all 31 European countries, including all EU member states and wealthy non-EU markets such as the UK, Switzerland and Norway.

June proves crucial for determining demand. For one, the base version of the updated Model Y should ultimately be a greater supply, following previous emphasis on Tesla selling more margin trims like the long-range of the all-wheel drive Model Y.

Secondly, the final month of the quarter is always when Tesla is doing the most business in Europe, so disappointment suggests a more persistent problem that a refreshed Model Y may not be able to solve.