Tesla Europe sales slump 40% in Feb amid weak demand, tough competition

Tesla’s European sales slumped just over 40% in February as the electric car maker grappled with a steadily declining market share amid tough competition and growing ire towards the company over CEO Elon Musk.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) new car registrations in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, and the UK,  slid 40.1% year-on-year in February to 16,888 units, while the company’s market share in the region shrank to 1.8% from 2.8% a year earlier, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showed on Tuesday.

Tesla’s sales had slumped by a similar margin in January.

Tesla’s weak February sales came even as overall battery EV registrations in Europe grew 26.1% year-on-year in Feb, with Tesla rivals such as China’s SAIC clocking strong y-o-y growth for the month.

Battery EVs also made up the third-largest component of European automobile sales in the Jan-Feb period, at a 15.2% market share. Hybrid EVs continued to dominate with a 35.2% market share. Petrol cars held a 28.6% share.

Tesla’s sales drop still came against the backdrop of a softer European car market, with overall new vehicle registrations falling 2.6% y-o-y in the month. But majors such as Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), Renault (EPA:RENA), and BMW (ETR:BMWG), all clocked stronger sales.

Feb marks a second straight month of dismal sales performance for Tesla in Europe, as the EV maker grappled with heightened competition in the EV market- from Chinese players and from hybrid EVs, which grew to be more preferred by consumers over battery EVs over the past two years.