Tesla’s market share in Europe shrank again last month, but strength bags in countries like Norway show that demand is declining, and worst of all, quarterly business updates for EV Maker, led by Elon Musk, may catch up.
New summary industry data publishing Vehicle sales across the continent fell 28% in May compared to the previous year, Wednesday showed. While still very steep, the situation for struggling brands is much worse, and the result marks the best monthly performance in 2025.
Tesla’s fledgling Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, may attract all headlines at the moment, but attention will return to the company’s core business when global vehicle production and delivery numbers are released in the second quarter of next week.
Tesla doesn’t break down its numbers by region, but there’s no secret that Europe is by far the most challenging market – not even CEO Elon Musk Try to raise objections.
So far, the volume across the continent has dropped by 37% April And possible. The brand’s problem in Europe is a huge opportunity for Musk, as it is the world’s second largest electric vehicle market after China.
On Wednesday, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA released its monthly report on its new car registration, showing the total electric vehicle market growth rate was 27%, reaching 193,500 vehicles.
However, the Hall Group was disappointed given the amount of investment its members invested in the EV sector. Of every six new vehicles registered during this period, every six new vehicles are powered only by electricity, which it believes is “a long way from where it needs to be”.
June proves Tesla’s key month
The key reason for the low level is the poor performance of ev pioneer Tesla. Its model Y, even in refresh form, surpasses its quality and has to compete in an increasingly crowded market with many options. These include competitors such as the Škoda Elroq compact crossover and its larger Enyaq siblings, affordable EV models from the Parents Volkswagen Group, not available in the United States.
Tesla’s volumes fell 28% in May, with only 13,863 cars registered. This caused its market share to drop to 7.2%, down 540 basis points in just one year.
NorwayThis is a sparsely populated oil-rich Scandinavian country whose annual car sales account for 1% of the size of the European market, almost single-handedly helping to avoid Tesla’s collapse. When adjusted to reflect the EU market (excluding Norway), Tesla’s number sank 40%, indicating little progress.
While ACEA released its figures with a nearly four-week delay, its monthly reports remain the most comprehensive source of public information about electric vehicle demand. It summarizes sales data in all 31 countries in Europe, including all EU member states and wealthy non-EU markets such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway.
June will prove that judgment of demand is crucial. First, after Tesla’s early emphasis on selling more high-fixed trim (such as the all-wheel drive model Y long distance), the basic version of the refresh model Y should eventually be larger.
Second, the last month of the quarter was always Tesla’s most business in Europe, so any disappointment would indicate a longer lasting problem, and refreshing the Y model Y may not be able to solve.
