When you look at sales at the brand level, things get a little worse for the American automaker. Volkswagen sold more EVs than anyone else in Europe last month, increasing by 61 percent to 23,514 units. As for Tesla? It fell to 11th place, with just 7,165 sales in total, a 49 percent decrease year on year.
Beating it to 10th place was China’s BYD. Barred from the US market by protectionist laws and now heavy new tariffs, BYD has focused instead on Europe. Its PHEVs have been selling strongly there, unaffected by tariffs aimed at BEVs, but even its BEV sales have now eclipsed Tesla, with 7,231 registrations last month.
“Although the difference between the two brands’ monthly sales totals may be small, the implications are enormous,” said Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics. “This is a watershed moment for Europe’s car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022.”
