Tesla Car Sales in Europe Plummet: Chinese BYD’s BEV Marks Significant Growth

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Tesla has been reeling from protests and boycotts over Musk’s involvement in politics.  It also faces other factors, including an ageing model lineup and intensifying competition from rival electric vehicle brands, particularly from China.

 According to the figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Tesla sales across Europe plummeted by half last month, as growth in the electric car market grew.

The numbers are the latest indication of how much the Tesla brand is suffering because of the backlash against billionaire CEO Elon Musk over his far-right views. Sales of Tesla vehicles in 32 European countries tumbled 49% to 7,261 in April from 14,228 in the same month the previous year,

Tesla has been reeling from protests and boycotts over Musk’s involvement in politics.  It also faces other factors, including an ageing model lineup and intensifying competition from rival electric vehicle brands, particularly from China.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war has also turned Europeans off buying American brands. In recent days, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on EU goods, accusing the bloc of being “very difficult to deal with,” before agreeing to delay the duties until July.

In the latest data, registrations of BYD’s BEV sales in Europe surged to 7,231 units in April, marking a remarkable 169 per cent year-on-year increase and ranking the company among the Top Ten brands in terms of local sales volume.

Tesla appears to be losing ground to Chinese brands, as sales at China’s SAIC zoomed up 54% in April, according to the ACEA figures. SAIC owns a slew of auto brands, including U.K.-based MG, known for its low-cost EV models.

Tesla is also suffering because it had to shut down factories for several weeks this year while upgrading its best-selling Model Y sport utility vehicle, pinching supply.

For the first four months of the year, Tesla’s European sales fell roughly 39% to 61,320 while the continent’s auto market as a whole showed little change during the same period, according to the data.

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For April, car sales in the EU edged up 1.3% from the previous year, “showing signs of recovery despite the ongoing unpredictable global economic environment,” the group said in a press release.