Tesla sales crash in Europe, UK. We can only wonder why

Somewhat stale range of Muskmobiles, competition from China, Elon being Elon, or all of the above?

Registration of new Tesla cars slumped across Europe in January, as Chinese electric-vehicle makers racked up enormous growth.

Germany's Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt vehicle authority reported Wednesday that sales of Musk's EV brand dropped by nearly 60 percent in January compared to the same period last year. The French automotive industry recorded a 63 percent year-over-year decline in registrations last month. The UK fared slightly better, though registrations still dipped by nearly eight percent in January, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders logging.

Numbers are similar across Europe, trade publication Electrek noted Tesla registrations in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway fell more than 40 percent, while Spain saw the steepest decline of 75 percent.

Despite Tesla's decline in the UK, France, and Germany, sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are up in those countries. The UK reported a 41 percent YoY increase in BEV registrations in January 2025, and Germany, despite an overall decline in automotive sales, saw a 53.5 percent increase in BEV purchases. The French automotive market, meanwhile, saw a sizable decline in sales overall, but BEV purchases as a share of total automotive sales increased YoY in January.

It’s tempting to blame the falls on Britons and Europeans’ distaste for Tesla boss Elon Musk, who as well as going through the US federal government like a wrecking ball for President Trump has recently spent a lot of time supporting right-wing causes in Europe. Tesla’s European operations have also been the subject of protests, and an arson attack near its Berlin Gigafactory. A long-running strike that began in Sweden in October 2023 saw Tesla service workers protest the car-maker’s disinterest in bargain with a local union. That strike is ongoing and has spilled into other countries, where workers continue to refuse to work with Tesla in solidarity.

The data we’ve linked to above reports new vehicle registrations, though, not consumer sentiment.

And the registration data suggests another explanation for Tesla’s sales slump in the form strong growth for rival EV brands. In the UK, Chinese leccy vehicle maker BYD saw year-over-year registrations increase by 550 percent to 1,614 vehicles, and a 69 percent jump in Germany. Polestar, a brand co-owed by Chinese concerns and Sweden’s Volvo, enjoyed 216 percent growth in the UK and 113 percent in Germany but sold in small numbers compared to Tesla.

BYD EVs are cheaper than Teslas in many territories. And Polestars are very posh.

Tesla has also not delivered new models for several years, other than its somewhat wonky Cybertruck. A refreshed version of its best-selling Model Y recently went on sale, but it is unclear when they’ll become available.

Tesla, which posted its fourth-quarter earnings last week, reported a dismal three months - and year - with a 71 percent plunge in profit and an eight percent decline in automotive revenue. It would be easy to dismiss some of that as continued skepticism around electric vehicles, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Elon Musk leans against his completely real invisible car, at Trump's 2025 inauguration ... Click for source

Tesla's sales problem isn't confined to Europe, either. California, America's largest electric vehicle market, attributed [PDF] an overall decline in automotive sales in the state last year solely to Elon Musk's automotive venture.

"All of the decrease in the state market last year was attributable to Tesla, which had an 11.6 percent decline," the California New Car Dealers Association said. "Registrations for all other brands increased 1.4 percent." ®