Tesla misses European EV growth as Model y fails to revive sales

By Jesus Carrero

(Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA) European sales fell 49% from the previous year, despite battery electric vehicle sales rising 27.8%, as upgrades to the Model Y of the US EV maker show little indication that it will revive the brand’s fate in the region.

Overall car sales in Europe fell 0.3%, with the strongest growth from electrical and plug-in hybrid vehicles shown by ACEA.

Tesla’s European sales fell for the fourth consecutive month, combining a backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s political views with a slimy reception from the new Model Y and a stronger competition with European and Chinese players.

Tesla’s European market share has dropped to just 0.7% from 1.3% a year ago.

European automakers are striving to cut costs amid intense competition, US tariffs on car imports, and slowing the global economy.

Sales in April fell to 1.07 million units following a 2.8% growth in March, followed by a 2.8% increase.

China’s state-owned SAIC motor and Japan’s registration with Mitsubishi rose 24.5% and 22.1% respectively, while Japan’s Mazda fell 24.5% (7261.T, mzday).

The EU alone does not include the UK and EFTA, but this year it has dropped by 1.2% so far.

That’s despite the continued increase in demand for EVs, as registrations for battery-electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and hybrid-electric (HEV) vehicles have risen by 26.4%, 7.8% and 20.8% respectively.

EV sales at BLOC – Whether it’s BEV, HEV or PHEV, it accounted for 59.2% of passenger car registrations in April, up from 47.7% the previous year.

Among the largest EU markets, total car sales in Spain and Italy increased by 7.1% and 2.7% respectively, while France and Germany fell by 5.6% and 0.2% respectively.

In the UK, registrations fell by 10.4%.

(Reporting by Jesus Carrero and Amir Orsov of Gdansk, Victoria Waldersey of Berlin; Edited by Allison Williams and Mark Potter)