Tesla Just Bucked An EV Trend In Europe, And It's A Huge Problem For The Company
Tesla's reputation has taken a significant hit since January, when CEO Elon Musk created the DOGE task force, billed as a means to decrease spending across the United States government. In doing so, Musk damaged his standing with the public, which has carried over to Tesla. New data shows that Tesla's reputational hit is not limited to the United States, as sales in Europe are down for Tesla amid a surging electric vehicle market.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, sales of battery electric vehicles across the European Union (EU) increased by 26.4 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, year-to-date. Tesla registrations in the EU have declined by 46.1 percent through April 2025, with a 52.6 percent year-over-year decrease in April alone.
For 2025 (January through April; all figures are year-over-year comparisons), Tesla has sold 41,677 units. In the same period in 2024, Tesla registrations (sales) were 77,314 units. If this downward trend continues, Tesla will be one of the five worst-selling brands in the EU by mid-2025. In April alone, Tesla only sold 5,475 vehicles in the EU. Though the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association didn't break out its data by month, it's easy to conclude Tesla sales have been in decline since the beginning of the year. If April were a "normal" month, Tesla would have sold about 22,000 vehicles in the EU.
Expanding the scope doesn't help much. In the EU, the UK, and across the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, Tesla sold 61,320 vehicles compared to 100,255 in the same timeframe in 2024, representing a 38.8 percent decline. In April, Tesla sold 7,261 vehicles, down from 14,228 last year, signaling a 49 percent drop.
Battery-electric vehicle sales in the EU from January through April 2025 are up 26.4 percent, which is the same percentage decline for ICE vehicles, suggesting that Europe is embracing the concept of replacing combustion engine vehicles with EVs. France and Estonia were the only countries to experience a decline in EV registrations year over year.
EVs account for only 15.3 percent of the market in the EU, trailing behind petrol vehicles (28.6 percent) and hybrids (35.3 percent). Though total car sales dipped 1.2 percent year to date, EV sales were up 3.3 percent. Diesel and petrol sales have dropped over ten percent year over year.
As Elon Musk quietly slips away from his work in government, the damage done to Tesla may be irreversible. Less than ten percent of overall Tesla sales occurred in one out of four months in 2025, which is an indicator that Tesla is a brand non grata in Europe and sales are declining sharply every month.
Upstart Chinese automaker BYD, a brand some consider Tesla's main existential threat, outsold Tesla in the EU in April by about 60 cars, according to data from analyst firm JATO. BYD doesn't have a vehicle in the top 10, according to JATO, but both of Tesla's main vehicles - the Model Y and Model 3 - saw sales decline 49 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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