Catenaa, Tuesday, May 27, 2025- Tesla sales performance in Europe continues to deteriorate as sales collapsed by 49% in April, data released on Tuesday showed, with Model Y continuing to fail.
Data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) shows that the EV maker continues to battle a brand crisis in its third-largest market, where sales of battery electric vehicles in Europe rose by nearly 28% in April.
The refreshed version of Tesla’s best-selling Model Y, which began rolling off production lines earlier this year, has so far failed to turn things around.
The backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration has depressed Tesla’s sales across the globe and turned the automaker into a target for protests and vandalism.
In an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum last week, Musk refused suggestions that Tesla was struggling to shift its EVs, saying that other companies were also struggling in Europe and that Tesla was seeing no issues with demand.
While some of Tesla’s rivals have struggled, none have seen as great a drop in sales. What’s more, BMW, Renault, and VW, which overtook Tesla to become the biggest EV seller in Europe in March, have all seen their sales grow so far this year, per ACEA data.
To make matters worse for Tesla, several of the company’s Chinese rivals have recorded surging sales in Europe so far this year.
State-owned auto conglomerate SAIC Motor saw its sales jump nearly 25% in April, while Tesla nemesis BYD sold more electric vehicles than Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, as it puts the automaker under pressure across the globe.
