Tesla registered 17,425 vehicles across 15 major European markets in February, representing a 10% increase compared to the same month last year, according to a report from electric vehicle news outlet Electrek. This marks the first significant year-over-year sales growth for Tesla in Europe in over a year.
Despite the February growth, Tesla's year-to-date sales in Europe remain essentially flat. Registrations for the first two months of the year totaled 25,451 vehicles, nearly identical to the 25,474 vehicles registered during the same period in the previous year.
The February data reveals highly uneven performance across different European markets. While some countries experienced strong year-over-year growth, several key markets continued to decline.
The countries with the fastest growth were Portugal (+112%), Spain (+74%), Germany (+59%), and France (+55%). France led the European market with 3,715 Tesla registrations in February. Germany followed with 2,276 registrations, and the United Kingdom ranked third with 2,422 vehicles. This positions France as Tesla's highest-selling European market year-to-date, with cumulative sales reaching 4,377 units over the first two months.
Conversely, registrations in the United Kingdom fell by 37% compared to February of the previous year. Although this represents an improvement from January's 57% decline, it still signifies a notable drop for what was Tesla's largest European market in the prior year. The Netherlands continued its downward trend with a 45% decrease, while Denmark saw an 18% decline and Sweden experienced a 10% drop.
Norway, historically Tesla's strongest market per capita, saw a rebound in February with sales rising to 1,210 vehicles, a 32% increase year-over-year. However, following an exceptionally weak January with only 83 registrations, the year-to-date total remains at just 1,293 vehicles, significantly lower than the 1,606 units registered in the first two months of the previous year.
Analysis indicates that Tesla's European registrations typically concentrate in the latter part of each quarter. As deliveries from the Shanghai Gigafactory and Berlin Gigafactory ramp up, the final month of the quarter often sees a substantial surge. In the first quarter of the previous year, March registrations reached 28,478 vehicles, accounting for nearly half of the quarter's total registrations of 53,952 units and exceeding the combined total from January and February.
If Tesla follows a similar pattern this year, first-quarter registrations could reach approximately 54,000 to 55,000 vehicles. This would be roughly on par with the first quarter of the previous year, a period during which Tesla's performance in the European Union was already weaker than that of any other major automaker.
Meanwhile, BYD achieved 18,242 registrations in Europe in January alone, a 165% year-over-year increase, and is actively expanding its dealer network and model lineup across the continent.
Comments