Tesla Sales Rebound in Europe After Monthslong Slump

By Mauro Orru

Tesla notched its first increase in European monthly sales in more than a year, a boost for Elon Musk's electric-vehicle maker as it faces intense competition from Chinese auto giant BYD to win over customers in the region.

New-car registrations for Tesla models, a reflection of sales, grew nearly 12% on year in February to 17,664 units across the European Union, the U.K., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, an industry body also known as ACEA. In the EU alone, sales climbed 29% from a year earlier.

The figure shows that Tesla remains a key contender for European drivers in need of electric vehicles despite a monthslong slump in sales. Tesla hadn't logged an increase in monthly new-car registrations in Europe since December 2024, according to ACEA data.

The group faced customer backlash last year due to Musk's involvement with the Trump administration: The billionaire had been overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency before leaving the administration in late May.

Meanwhile, competition from Chinese rival BYD, with its lineup of electric and hybrid vehicles, gained intensity in Europe. BYD sales have surged every month since ACEA began including the company in its data last summer, showing it grow to become a fierce opponent to Tesla. BYD recently ​dethroned Tesla ​as the world's biggest EV seller.

BYD's new-car registrations in Europe nearly tripled last month to 17,954 units, outselling Tesla. Still, despite BYD's success and Tesla's recovery, ACEA figures show that domestic carmakers remain the top sellers in Europe in absolute numbers.

Germany's Volkswagen reported a 2.2% increase in registrations to 256,452 vehicles last month, while sales for Jeep maker Stellantis increased 9.5% to 170,816 units, according to ACEA figures that include both electric and other types of vehicles.

Several carmakers have had to review their lineups and scale back EV production in recent years as they struggled to convince drivers to transition to electric. In February, Stellantis said it would book charges of about $26 billion as part of a shift away from electric vehicles amid weaker-than-expected demand.

The market for battery-electric vehicles in Europe grew nearly 16% last month. Registrations of hybrid-electric cars increased over 10%, while plug-in-hybrid models logged 33% growth.

ACEA said that passenger-car registrations rose 1.7% in Europe as a whole and 1.4% in the EU, with sales up 3.8% in Germany and 14% in Italy.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2026 01:14 ET (05:14 GMT)