Tesla isn't just floundering in the US - new registrations of Elon Musk's electric vehicles have dipped in the EU and UK this year, too. 

New vehicle registration data for June published by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) today shows that registrations of new Teslas decreased in the region by 7.2 percent compared to June 2023. For the entire first half of the year that number is even bleaker, with new Tesla registrations dropping 12 percent compared to the first six months of last year.

As such, Tesla's EV market share has taken a corresponding hit, with the company accounting for 10.8 percent of the EV market as of June, down from 11.6 percent earlier in the year. Other European automakers offering EVs, like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo have either seen their share of the sector remain the same - or grow by quite a lot, in Volvo's case - over the same period. 

It's a similar situation to the one Tesla finds itself in the United States, where its dominance in the EV market has been gradually shrinking to the point where the company's share of US sales recently fell under 50 percent for the first time ever. As in Europe, Tesla's American sales decline has occurred simultaneously with overall growth in the US EV market.

Per the ACEA, June sales of battery-electric vehicles dipped slightly to 14.4 percent of all new EU/ UK cars sold, but hybrid electric vehicles rose from slightly less than a quarter to just under 30 percent, tallying with previous reports that hybrids are gaining popularity as a more flexible alternative to battery electric vehicles. 

Gasoline and diesel vehicle sales in the EU and UK slid slightly in June, per the ACEA. 

Tesla's struggles go beyond Elon

It's not hard to understand why Tesla is in trouble in the United States, where Musk's online persona has attracted lots of negative attention since he bought Twitter, and his car company has been the subject of near constant negative press for various reasons. 

Whether Musk's perpetually online antics have begun to sour on European residents is less clear, and we didn't hear back from ACEA with any takes before publication.

That said, even if you remove Musk's personal presence from the mix, Tesla has still had a wild ride in Europe this year that's unlikely to be helping. 

Take Sweden, for example, where Tesla service and repair workers have been on strike since last October over Tesla's refusal to collectively bargain with their local union, IF Metall. Sympathy strikes in other countries, including Denmark and Norway, have also been ongoing for months and have included refusal among port and transportation workers to allow new Teslas into the country. 

ACEA's numbers suggest the strike may have had at least some effect on Tesla sales in parts of Scandinavia, with Sweden showing a 16.8 percent decrease in battery electric vehicle sales in June - albeit with an increase in Denmark and Norway. That data isn't broken down by manufacturer, so it's not clear if Tesla sales decreased in either country while others rose. 

Then there's trouble in Germany, where an alleged arson attack in March took Tesla's gigafactory outside Berlin offline for a week, causing 1,000 vehicles a day to go unfinished, per the automaker. Climate protesters stormed the factory in May but were repelled; in both cases the opposition was in response to Tesla's plan to expand its facilities into a nearby forest. 

Tesla blamed trouble with Houthi rebels targeting shipping lanes in the Red Sea for its troubles in the first half of the year.

Of course, it's also entirely possible that those interested in buying an electric car are just bored with the fact that, Cybertruck aside, Tesla hasn't released a new model in some time, and even reportedly abandoned plans for a budget-priced model earlier this year.  

With no new cars on the horizon, and a cheaper version reportedly off the table, it makes sense that European car buyers would turn to a more established brand when looking for an EV.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive director of strategic planning, told The Register that, while she doesn't track the EU automotive market, she believes market competition and aging models are likely to blame for Tesla's decline in the European market. 

Valdez Streaty also cited reduced EV subsidies in Europe, specifically in Germany and France, as bearing a share of the blame, and it would appear she's correct in that regard - overall EV sales in both countries fell by more than 10 percent in June. 

Tesla didn't respond to questions. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/07/18/tesla_sales_market_share_dip/