Tesla has faced significant headwinds in the European market. 4, when the company only sold 7,261 vehicles in its considered markets of the European Union, European Free Trade Association and the United Kingdom. Now, the company’s sales are down 49% from last year at this time. This steep drop represents a painful loss of footing in an increasingly competitive and fast-moving market.
Tesla’s sales have just plummeted and that’s a bad sign. That’s a notable indication that the company has lost almost half of its former monopolistic market share. Tesla’s newest Gigafactory is located in Gruenheide, Germany. While the factory, which opened on March 25, 2022, is a notable boost as the company rides the wave of success for its favored Model Y electric vehicle, the good times are fading. The facility was meant to increase the manufacturing output capability while optimizing operational efficiency in the center of Europe. Yet these transformative results have missed the mark.
As Tesla falters, manufacturers from China such as BYD continue to achieve remarkable success. In April, BYD made jaws drop when it outsold Tesla for the first time in Europe. This is a historic change, reflecting a continuing trend in consumer demand toward Chinese EVs. According to data from Jato Dynamics, registrations of EVs from Chinese automakers surged 59% over last year. In April, they had set a record of 15,300 units attained just for that month.
The total market for new car registrations in the EU, U.K., and EFTA countries was down 0.3% overall. This decrease spread the overall tally down to 1,077,186 total units. Interestingly, gas and diesel vehicle registrations went down the most, followed by hybrid gas-electric vehicles. The good news is consumers are really coming around to electric vehicles. At the same time, traditional combustion engine vehicles are in decline.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Tesla has lost almost every registration for an electric vehicle. So far, they haven’t come through with hard numbers.
Tariffs Tesla must pay
Tesla shouldn’t have to worry about the huge European Union-imposed tariffs on cars. These new tariffs would make it harder for it to effectively compete in this growing market.