Tesla sales have tightened in Europe since the beginning of the year, possibly due to the behavior of its Elon Musk boss, but also the modernization of its range.
Tesla registrations fell 49 % over a year in January and February in the European Union (EU), falling to 19,046 vehicles and 1.1 % market share, according to figures published Tuesday, March 25 by the Association of European Automobiles (ACEA). Registration of electric motor vehicles, the specialty of the American brand, nevertheless increased throughout 28.4 % over the same period in the EU, at 255,489 vehicles and 15.2 % of the market.
On the month of February alone, sales fell 47.1 % for Tesla but with a market share in slight improvement at 1.4 %, more or less the level of Jeep, and less than the Chinese Saic, with its hybrids and electrics sold under MG brand.
A musk effect
Sales of the brand of Elon Musk are hampered by his positions alongside American President Donald Trump. “Many people are not lined up with his positions,” said Matthieu Noël, analyst at Roland Berger. But it is still difficult to say at this stage if “it has a real impact on the brand or if it is temporary”.
More classically, the brand confronts with its aging range a burst of new electric models from its competitors, European and Asian. Tesla, who participated in creating the electric car market, “is no longer positioned with the best products”, underlines Matthieu Noël.
The facelift brought to Model 3 and Model Y, his bestsellers, gives “the impression that we are always on the same vehicle”, according to him. Reliability problems and the massive recall of the Cybertruck, a huge SUV, which is not sold in Europe, were also able to play, according to the analyst.
Sales of upward hybrid models
In the meantime, hybrid models (with an electric motor and a battery that is not plugged in) are increasingly taking control of the European market. They represented 35.2 % of sales over the first two months of the year (+18.7 % over one year), ahead of petrol models (29.1 % of the market, -20.5 %).
All energies combined, the automotive market has remained low with less than 1.7 million cars registered since the start of the year in the EU (-3 % over a year), and strong drops in Germany or Italy. Electric cars are progressing in particular in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and begin to take off in Spain and Italy.
The European number 2 Stellantis suffers more than everyone else and remains below 300,000 vehicles with 16.9 % market share in January-February (-17.1 % over a year). The European leader Volkswagen has recovered market share (27.3 %, + 4.8 %).