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Tesla’s European sales drop for the fifth straight month

Electric carmakers struggle as consumers turn to cheaper competitors amid strong opposition to Elon Musk

Tesla’s sales in Europe fell for the fifth straight month, even as demand for electric vehicles continued to increase.

According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the electric car maker sold 8,729 cars last month.

The decline means the automaker’s EU market share has dropped from 1.6% to just 0.9%.

The company has been relying on updated models to regain the ground in Europe, but buyers have opted for cheaper Chinese electric cars, while the controversy over CEO Elon Musk’s political views continues to weigh on consumers’ sentiment.

The data highlights the problems Musk faces, who cuts the work of the Presidential administration to focus on Tesla, one of the world’s most valuable automakers.

Battery-electric vehicle registration year in the EU rose 25% to 142,776, while plug-in hybrid sales soared 46.9% to 87,301 units.

Germany remains the largest adopter of battery-electric vehicles on the continent, with 43,060 pre-registered vehicles, up 44.9% in the previous year. In France, there was a decline, with registrations falling from 23,892 to 19,414.

As buyers increasingly turn to cheaper alternatives, China’s SAIC car sales reached 18,716 in May, up from $13,562 last year, boosting its market share to 2%.

In the UK, Tesla sold 2,016 units last month. According to separate figures from the Automobile Manufacturers and Traders Association, another Chinese competitor’s percentage was better than the second month in a row, selling 3,025 units.

However, the Chinese automaker is said to be revising its strategy last year. Despite the price reduction, it has curbed some of its production and delayed expansion plans by rising inventory levels. It has cancelled night shifts and reduced production by at least one third of its capacity at some of its plants, Reuters reported.

These figures also suggest that hybrid vehicles remained the EU’s most popular buyer choice for the five months to May, accounting for 35.1% of the market share, while petrol fell to 28.6% from 35.6% last year.


Jamie Young

Jamie is a senior journalist in business affairs, bringing more than a decade of experience in the UK SME report. Jamie holds a degree in business administration and regularly attends industry conferences and workshops. When not reporting the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about coaching emerging journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.



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