BMW Group Electric Vehicle Volkswagen shorted in Europe in February

March 24 (Reuters) – European Tesla electric vehicles lag behind Legacy brands Volkswagen and BMW Group in February, as well as competitors from China, data showed on Monday, research platform Dynamics showed.

Elon Musk’s all-electric brand faces loyalty tests in Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump openly supports far-right parties on the continent, including at least two dozen posts on his X platform, promoting Germany’s alternative fur deutschland.

Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at Jato Dynamics, said in a note that Musk’s role in politics, rising competition in the electric vehicle market, and the existing version of the best-selling vehicle, the Y Model Y, have all affected sales.

“Brands like Tesla have relatively limited model lineups and are particularly vulnerable to registration when performing model conversions,” Munoz said.

Tesla’s battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in 25 EU markets, the UK, Norway and Switzerland fell by an average of 44% from the same month in 2024 to 16,000 vehicles sold in February. The market share fell to 9.6% for the month, the lowest reading in February in the past five years.

Volkswagen’s BEV sales rose 180% to 20,000 cars, while BMW-branded Mini (merger) sold nearly 19,000 BEVs in February, according to data.

Jato Dynamics said that Chinese-owned brands also sell more electric cars than Tesla.

Byd and Polestar’s BEV sales in the same market increased by 94% and 84%, respectively, to more than 4,000 and 2,000 vehicles. Xpeng sold over 1,000 cars and nearly 900 jumps.

Data show that sales of BEVs owned by Geely and MGs owned by May fell by 30% and 67%, respectively.

In February, car sales in 25 EU markets in the UK, Norway and Switzerland fell 3% to 970,000, while BEV registrations rose 25%. (Reported by Alessandro Parodi and Louise Heavens)