Tesla’s sales freefall in Europe continues. The American automaker’s sales declined by 40% in July, while BYD’s increased by 225%.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) released automotive sales numbers for July today, and it confirmed that battery-electric vehicle sales rose 39.1%, exceeding the growth rate of ICE vehicles.
Generally, rising EV sales would be suitable for an EV leader like Tesla, but the American automaker’s sales remain in freefall in Europe.
Tesla was down 40% in July, and it is now down 37% year-to-date in Europe:
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ManufacturerJuly 2025 ShareJuly 2025 UnitsJuly 2024 UnitsJuly Change %YTD 2025 ShareYTD 2025 UnitsYTD 2024 UnitsYTD Change %Volkswagen Group28.2306,543274,65911.626.82,118,5452,044,4483.6Volkswagen11.5124,464109,32713.811.0872,817825,7095.7Skoda7.177,59159,44230.56.2490,531440,83211.3Audi4.952,97159,147-10.44.8381,095404,240-5.7Cupra2.224,19916,66245.22.2177,241129,57136.8Seat1.718,56422,092-16.31.6132,209172,059-23.2Porsche0.77,8016,41321.80.757,77764,826-10.9Others (VW)0.195276624.30.15,9845,4509.8Stellantis13.9151,391153,071-1.116.41,192,7461,298,490-8.1Peugeot4.448,02749,291-2.65.2411,792394,9854.3Opel/Vauxhall3.336,27935,3372.73.1241,385267,479-9.8Citroen2.426,33326,2980.12.7216,659249,824-13.3Fiat2.121,32123,862-10.72.1172,692200,084-13.6Jeep1.010,42210,479-0.51.082,69281,2311.7Alfa Romeo0.44,3173,19735.00.438,12728,48734.0DS0.21,4161,506-5.90.211,95212,608-5.2Lancia/Chrysler0.19052,843-68.20.27,4019,263-20.3Others (Stellantis)0.15495019.60.15,8463,87550.9Renault Group9.6104,19495,7848.68.7812,116767,6745.8Renault4.649,55948,2852.65.6443,682411,7627.8Dacia5.053,49547,46812.74.6362,839353,1552.7Alpine0.114039261.30.1595294102.3Hyundai Group8.591,91893,934-2.38.2631,027658,162-4.1Hyundai4.545,34746,362-2.24.2316,492329,627-4.0Kia3.942,67146,390-7.04.0314,535328,944-4.2Toyota Group7.077,47580,390-3.67.0556,611559,524-0.5Toyota6.671,37674,172-3.86.7510,094557,039-0.5Lexus0.46,0994,21844.60.346,51724,88586.9BMW Group7.783,27974,60211.67.2569,338542,1675.0BMW6.366,77563,7254.06.0474,149426,15911.3Mini1.415,40410,89741.41.295,18980,12219.0Mercedes-Benz4.953,45853,4470.04.9388,876387,7800.3Ford3.335,21031,73011.03.3260,342236,07110.3Volvo Cars2.325,03030,044-16.72.5195,966225,003-13.3Nissan1.923,88225,002-4.81.8187,969198,459-5.3SAIC Motor2.123,31620,76912.32.2176,415149,72917.8Suzuki1.010,24211,934-14.21.1106,860112,857-5.3Tesla0.88,83714,769-40.21.2113,019179,338-37.0Mazda0.88,77210,795-18.70.991,175101,475-10.2BYD1.213,5034,151225.31.084,41621,612290.6Jaguar Land Rover Group1.09,82812,010-18.21.282,33295,161-13.4Land Rover0.79,82110,240-4.11.079,25285,950-7.8Jaguar0.371,770-99.60.23,08028,211-89.1Honda0.66,0246,068-0.70.53,3143,777-12.3Mitsubishi0.33,3274,224-21.30.431,22140,491-23.6
Meanwhile, BYD was up 225% and outsold Tesla by a wide margin, with 13,503 units sold versus Tesla’s 8,837.
BYD has been selling passenger vehicles in Europe for less than 3 years, and it is now already surpassing Tesla on a monthly basis.
At this pace, the Chinese automaker could even potentially outsell Tesla in Europe for the whole year.
Electrek’s Take
BEV sales are up 40% and Tesla’s are down 40%. This is a red flag if I have ever seen one.
It’s shocking to me that Tesla allowed this to happen in such a crucial electric vehicle market.
If I understand correctly, Tesla is not addressing the issue at all because CEO Elon Musk believes the reason Tesla is not performing well in Europe is that “everyone else is doing poorly in Europe” and that Tesla can’t launch its Full Self-Driving system in the market.
One of those points is a complete fabrication, as the data above highlights, and the other is total speculation in my opinion.
I’d be surprised if Tesla’s FSD launch in Europe has a significant impact on demand.
Meanwhile, Tesla is allowing its sales to free-fall in one of the world’s largest automotive markets – acting like it doesn’t know the real reason demand is abysmal: Elon Musk.
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