For the first time, Chinese automaker BYD has sold more electric vehicles than Tesla in Europe, registering 7,231 battery electric vehicles (BEV) compared to Tesla's 7,165 in April. This shift highlights a significant moment in the European car market, where BYD has rapidly gained traction since expanding operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands last year. Despite Tesla's prior dominance and steady overall demand for electric vehicles in Europe, issues including political controversies surrounding CEO Elon Musk and production challenges have negatively affected Tesla's performance.
"This is a watershed moment for Europe's car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022," JATO Dynamics' global analyst Felipe Munoz said.
"Despite the EU's imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, registrations of such cars increased 59% in the month from a year earlier, while carmakers from Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States recorded 26% growth."
Musk said earlier this week that Tesla had already turned around sales, and demand was strong in regions apart from Europe.
Analysts have also attributed lower sales to customers waiting for less-expensive versions of the new Model Y, Tesla's best-selling vehicle, to become more widely available.
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