The ??? ?? ?? ???electric vehicle sales numbers for Europe in February are in, and it's not looking good for Elon Musk's Tesla.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), battery electric vehicles (BEV) are selling well in Europe, accounting 15.2 percent of new car registrations in the January-February period of 2025. That's up from 11.5 percent in the same period last year, and mostly at the expense of petrol and diesel cars. A total of 255,489 BEV units were sold, a 28.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
For Tesla, however, the numbers are downright awful. In the January-February period of 2025, the company sold 37,311 units in Europe, a 49 percent decline compared to the same period last year.
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Europeans want electric cars. They just don't want Tesla's electric cars. Credit: ACEA Some of the decline could be attributed to the launch of the company's most popular model, the Model Y, which was refreshed in January, first making its way to China, followed by a launch in Europe. Some buyers may have been holding on their purchase in order to get the hotly anticipated new model.
Looking at ACEA's sales numbers for Tesla in February alone, it's fair to assume that there are other reasons for decline. During February, Tesla sold a total of 11,743 units, down 47.1 percent compared to February 2024, when the company sold 22,181 units in Europe.
In February, the Model Y was available to pre-order in many European countries, but it didn't start shipping until early March. We'll likely get a clearer picture of how the new Model Y is selling in Europe next month.
However, there are strong indications that European buyers simply moved on to other brands. According to figures from automotive market research company JATO Dynamics for February 2025, not only did Tesla sell 56 percent less Model Y units, the company also sold 14 percent less Model 3 units, which can hardly be attributed to the Model Y's launch. In contrast, many Volkswagen group BEVs, including the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.3, as well as Skoda Enyaq (which is also being replaced by a new model very soon), are selling extremely well compared to last year's February (ACEA tracks the UK, the EU, and EFTA separately, but even adding all of them together, Tesla sales are still down 40.1 percent in February, year-over-year).
Tesla is still leading the pack, but the lead is shrinking. Credit: JATO Electrek tracks Tesla sales per country, and reports the sales decline has been too large to attribute to the Model Y transition. For example, in Germany, Tesla sold only 1,429 cars in February 2025, down 70.6 percent compared to the same period last year. In France, Tesla sold 26 percent fewer units in February. The only European country where Tesla fared well in February (according to the data we have now) was the UK, where sales rose 7.7 percent in February.
It's fairly obvious that Musk's politics, which include support for Germany's far-right party AfD, and the since-deleted post that saw him absolve Hitler and other dictators of genocide, are getting in the way of Tesla sales. In a recent T-Online poll, with around 100,000 readers voting, more than 94 percent said they wouldn't buy a Tesla again. A recent YouGov EuroTrack survey indicated that the majority of Britons and Germans have an unfavourable view of Musk.
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Commenting on Tesla's recent stock price decline, the Musk wrote on X that "it will be fine long-term." Possibly, but it may take a while — and perhaps some changes within the company — for Tesla to regain the trust of European buyers.