Tesla’s sales across Europe continued to decline steeply, even as wider demand for electric cars rises.
The latest car sales data show that Tesla sold 8,729 vehicles across the European Union last month, down from 14,682 in May 2024. Sales contracted 40.5 per cent according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
When wider figures for the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are also included, sales contracted nearly 28 per cent to 13,863 vehicles.
The numbers are the latest in a downward spiral of sales with Tesla’s new-car registrations in the bloc slumping almost 53 per cent in April, 36 per cent in March, 47 per cent in February and 50 per cent in January.
Tesla’s share of the European car market has now shrunk from 1.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent.
The decline comes as sales of battery-electric vehicles in Europe increased 25 per cent year on year, with a near 45 per cent jump in Germany, where Tesla’s car plant is situated. Registrations of hybrid-electric cars rose 16 per cent, while plug-in-hybrid models climbed nearly 47 per cent.
The figures, collated before Elon Musk’s widely publicised fallout with US President Donald Trump, suggest the electric carmaker continues to face a backlash against Musk’s political ties to the Trump administration as well as his support for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.
The chief executive said last month his work for the administration was now over. The billionaire said on his social media site last month that he had gone back to spending more time at work, adding that he had to be “super focused” on Tesla and his other companies.
Tesla is also facing tough price competition from Chinese rivals such as BYD, SAIC and XPeng as they seek to expand in Europe.
Chinese manufacturers kept up their strong growth in Europe last month despite EU tariffs on Chinese EVs, selling 65,808 cars and doubling their market share to 5.9 per cent, according to separate data.
The data also suggests that Tesla’s revamped Model Y has yet to show signs of reviving the brand’s fortunes. The revised Model Y is meant to refresh the company’s ageing model range.
In France, the EV-maker also faces French investigators who have ordered Tesla to stop what they called “deceptive business practices” or face thousands of euros in fines.
Investigators at the French finance ministry’s Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control office said Tesla had engaged in deceptive commercial practices over the fully autonomous driving capabilities of its cars, had issued sales contracts with no date, time or place of vehicle delivery, and had failed to provide timely refunds, among other failures.
The investigators, who said the inquiry began in 2023, have ordered Tesla to comply with regulations within four months or face fines of 50,000 euros a day after that date until it complies.
In the US, as Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, over the weekend, which seeks to compete with rivals such as Waymo in the autonomous ride-hailing market, it was revealed it faces legal action over the deaths of three people killed last September when their 2024 Model S equipped with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features crashed in New Jersey.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed in the federal court in New Jersey, attributed the deaths of David Dryerman, 54; his wife Michele, 54; and their daughter Brooke, 17, to the car’s “defective and unreasonably dangerous design.”
Tesla has not commented on the legal action.
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