Four major EV-friendly European markets reported significant double-digit declines in Tesla volumes for April, with Norway being the only exception showing improvement. The introduction of the newer Model Y has not significantly rekindled interest in the Tesla brand across the continent.
Europe, which is the world’s second-largest electric vehicle market after China, appears to be less receptive to Tesla’s offerings. Tesla’s CEO faced challenges as national markets released car sales figures, indicating a continued decline in the brand’s performance in Europe.
Countries including France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Switzerland experienced substantial decreases in new Tesla vehicle registrations. These declines were marked by high double-digit rates, making their sales numbers comparatively insignificant against the performance in the United States or China.
Investors were hopeful that Tesla’s weak first quarter was due to a transition from the older version of the Model Y to a newer version featuring updated styling in European markets. This changeover involved the temporary shutdown of all four Tesla factories for retooling, which reduced availability and contributed to historically weak Q1 results.
In France, Tesla’s sales fell 59% to 863 vehicles. In Sweden, where a labor dispute with the IF Metall trade union exists, sales dropped 81% to 203 vehicles. The Netherlands saw a 74% decrease to 382 cars, and Switzerland experienced a 50% decline to 227 vehicles. These markets, despite being favorable for EV sales due to wealth and infrastructure, did not perform well for Tesla. Only Norway showed a positive trend with a 12% increase to 976 vehicles.
The total of 19,771 Tesla vehicles registered across these five markets in the first four months of the year equates to approximately two weeks of sales in China.
The final figures for markets such as Germany and the UK, the largest in Europe, are yet to be published. It is possible these figures could still reflect the slow production ramp-up and limited availability of the Model Y Juniper.
The CEO has been frequently in the news for controversies, including alleged personal issues and political activism, which may have impacted Tesla’s reputation in Europe. In the UK and Germany, Musk’s political stances have proven unpopular with local customers, possibly affecting brand perception.
This article was originally featured on Fortune.com.
