2025, dark year for Tesla? The sales of the American brand have hardened in Europe since the beginning of the year, possibly the behavior of its boss Elon Musk, but also the lack of modernization of its range.
Tesla records fell 49% more than one year in January and February in the European Union (EU), falling to 19,046 vehicles and 1.1% market share, according to the figures published on Tuesday by the Association of European Automobiles (ACEA).
However, the registration of electric motor vehicles, the specialty of the American brand, increased by 28.4% during the same period in the EU, to 255,489 vehicles and 15.2% of the market.
In February alone, sales fell 47.1% for Tesla but with a market share in a slight improvement to 1.4%, more or less the Jeep level, and less than the Chinese SAIC, with its hybrids and electricity sold under the MG brand.
A lasting impact?
Elon Musk’s brand sales are hindered by their positions along with US President Donald Trump.
“Many people are not aligned with their positions,” said Matthieu Noël, Roland Berger analyst.
But it is still difficult to say at this stage if “it has a real impact on the brand or if it is temporary.”
More classically, the brand faces with its aging range an explosion of new electrical models of its competitors, Europeans and Asians. Tesla, who participated in the creation of the electric car market, “is no longer positioned with the best products,” says Matthieu Noël.
Facial stretching brought to model 3 and the model and, its best selling, gives “the impression that we are always in the same vehicle,” according to him. The problems of reliability and massive retreat from Cybertruck, a huge SUV, which is not sold in Europe, could also play, according to the analyst.
Hybrids are increasing
Meanwhile, hybrid models (with an electric motor and a battery that are not connected) are increasingly taking control of the European market. They represented 35.2% of sales during the first two months of the year (+18.7% for a year), ahead of gasoline models (29.1% of the market, -20.5%).
All combined energies, the automotive market has remained low with less than 1.7 million cars registered since the beginning of the year in the EU (-3% for a year), and strong falls in Germany or Italy. Electric cars are progressing in particular in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and begin to take off in Spain and Italy.
Lightening sanctions
This electric progression is not enough for the automotive lobby: “It remains lower than the necessary level for the transition to zero emission mobility,” he emphasizes in a press release from Sigrid de VRies, general director of the ACEA.
“While the European Commission’s proposal on the reduction of sanctions for cars and trucks for the 2025-2027 period is about to be published, it will be equally important to address the fundamental strangulation bottles that slows this transition,” he said.
ACEA cites the acceleration of investments in collection infrastructure, the introduction of fiscal incentives and the purchase directed for light and heavy vehicles, and the reduction of electricity costs for electric cars.
Source: BFM TV
