Tesla sales continued their decline in France in February, possibly hampered by the behavior of its Elon Musk boss but also by the modernization of its range. The American electric car manufacturer saw its sales drop by 26 % over a year, with 2,395 vehicles registered in February, according to figures published, Saturday March 1, by the automotive platform (PFA). The automotive market, however, remained stable (-0.72 %) over a year in the country, as are sales of electric cars, which are maintained at 18 % of the market in February. The Renault 5 and the Citroën C3, launched at the end of 2024, notably recovered market share of the American manufacturer.
“There was a significant redistribution in one year, rather for the benefit of European manufacturers,” said Marc Mortureux de la PFA, who represents manufacturers and large equipment manufacturers. At European level, Tesla sales had already been almost divided by two in January. Elon Musk’s positions alongside Donald Trump brake buyers from Tesla, and boycott calls were launched. At the back of the Tesla appeared “I Bough this Before Elon Went Crazy” stickers (I bought it before it went crazy), as in the United States. But it remains difficult to assess how much the billionaire and his support for the European far right have potential customers.
Globally, the manufacturer had announced at the end of January a decrease of 1 % of its deliveries in 2024, the first decline in its history, when it provided “a slight increase”. Tesla had been assigned by temporary closures of sites, especially in Germany after a voluntary fire and a strike, but also in Texas and China for modernization work. Always the world leader in the electric car with its models loaded with technology and displayed at aggressive prices, Tesla patina in particular because of a change of range, with the current deployment of the new version of its SUV Star, the Model Y.
The hope of reviving with new models
The brand, which also faces an avalanche of electric models from its competitors, assures that it will relaunch with the arrival during 2025 low -cost models and then its Robotaxi. Since the beginning of 2025, European customs duties have also started to have their effect on imports of Chinese electric cars. The MG brand, owned by the Chinese giant Saic, left its electric offensive aside to reposition itself on hybrid, less taxed models. Electric car registrations were also supported by massive purchases from companies. Sales to individuals have dropped by 29 %, suffering from the comparison with the month of February 2024 which had seen social leased doping the registrations of electricity.
“The request remains largely guided by the aid for purchase,” commented Marie-Laure Nivot of the AAA Data firm. Electric models benefited until February 14, more favorable 2024 bonuses. In parallel, the planned increase in the penalty on March 1 has pushed certain dealers or customers to make early registrations for more polluting models. “These bonus and penalty changes make the market that are not very readable because these anticipated registrations may weigh on the dynamics of next month,” said Marie-Laure Nivot in a statement.
A automotive market at half mast
The French automotive market has generally remained sluggish in February, with 141,568 registrations, still far from the figures before the COVID-19 epidemic. Hybrid models have taken control of the market and represent 44.3 % of registrations over the first two months of the year, compared to 25.4 % petrol models and a handful of diesel (4.6 %) and 17.7 % for electric models.
On the side of car groups, the Stellantis group remains in sharp decline but limited the breakage compared to previous months (-10.66 % over a year), always with drops at Citroën or Opel, but stabilization at Peugeot. The Renault Group is in sharp increase (+17.62 %) and talls Stellantis with 26.75 % market share, thanks in particular to its Renault Clio, number 1 of sales.