Tesla’s freefall in Europe continues as BYD overtakes it at stunning pace
Fred Lambert | Aug 28 2025 - 9:33 am PT
21 Comments
Tesla’s sales freefall in Europe continues. The American automaker’s sales declined by 40% in July, while BYD’s increased by 225%.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) released automotive sales numbers for July today, and it confirmed that battery-electric vehicle sales rose 39.1%, exceeding the growth rate of ICE vehicles.
Generally, rising EV sales would be suitable for an EV leader like Tesla, but the American automaker’s sales remain in freefall in Europe.
Tesla was down 40% in July, and it is now down 37% year-to-date in Europe:
| Manufacturer | July 2025 Share | July 2025 Units | July 2024 Units | July Change % | YTD 2025 Share | YTD 2025 Units | YTD 2024 Units | YTD Change % | | Volkswagen Group | 28.2 | 306,543 | 274,659 | 11.6 | 26.8 | 2,118,545 | 2,044,448 | 3.6 | | Volkswagen | 11.5 | 124,464 | 109,327 | 13.8 | 11.0 | 872,817 | 825,709 | 5.7 | | Skoda | 7.1 | 77,591 | 59,442 | 30.5 | 6.2 | 490,531 | 440,832 | 11.3 | | Audi | 4.9 | 52,971 | 59,147 | -10.4 | 4.8 | 381,095 | 404,240 | -5.7 | | Cupra | 2.2 | 24,199 | 16,662 | 45.2 | 2.2 | 177,241 | 129,571 | 36.8 | | Seat | 1.7 | 18,564 | 22,092 | -16.3 | 1.6 | 132,209 | 172,059 | -23.2 | | Porsche | 0.7 | 7,801 | 6,413 | 21.8 | 0.7 | 57,777 | 64,826 | -10.9 | | Others (VW) | 0.1 | 952 | 766 | 24.3 | 0.1 | 5,984 | 5,450 | 9.8 | | Stellantis | 13.9 | 151,391 | 153,071 | -1.1 | 16.4 | 1,192,746 | 1,298,490 | -8.1 | | Peugeot | 4.4 | 48,027 | 49,291 | -2.6 | 5.2 | 411,792 | 394,985 | 4.3 | | Opel/Vauxhall | 3.3 | 36,279 | 35,337 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 241,385 | 267,479 | -9.8 | | Citroen | 2.4 | 26,333 | 26,298 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 216,659 | 249,824 | -13.3 | | Fiat | 2.1 | 21,321 | 23,862 | -10.7 | 2.1 | 172,692 | 200,084 | -13.6 | | Jeep | 1.0 | 10,422 | 10,479 | -0.5 | 1.0 | 82,692 | 81,231 | 1.7 | | Alfa Romeo | 0.4 | 4,317 | 3,197 | 35.0 | 0.4 | 38,127 | 28,487 | 34.0 | | DS | 0.2 | 1,416 | 1,506 | -5.9 | 0.2 | 11,952 | 12,608 | -5.2 | | Lancia/Chrysler | 0.1 | 905 | 2,843 | -68.2 | 0.2 | 7,401 | 9,263 | -20.3 | | Others (Stellantis) | 0.1 | 549 | 501 | 9.6 | 0.1 | 5,846 | 3,875 | 50.9 | | Renault Group | 9.6 | 104,194 | 95,784 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 812,116 | 767,674 | 5.8 | | Renault | 4.6 | 49,559 | 48,285 | 2.6 | 5.6 | 443,682 | 411,762 | 7.8 | | Dacia | 5.0 | 53,495 | 47,468 | 12.7 | 4.6 | 362,839 | 353,155 | 2.7 | | Alpine | 0.1 | 140 | 39 | 261.3 | 0.1 | 595 | 294 | 102.3 | | Hyundai Group | 8.5 | 91,918 | 93,934 | -2.3 | 8.2 | 631,027 | 658,162 | -4.1 | | Hyundai | 4.5 | 45,347 | 46,362 | -2.2 | 4.2 | 316,492 | 329,627 | -4.0 | | Kia | 3.9 | 42,671 | 46,390 | -7.0 | 4.0 | 314,535 | 328,944 | -4.2 | | Toyota Group | 7.0 | 77,475 | 80,390 | -3.6 | 7.0 | 556,611 | 559,524 | -0.5 | | Toyota | 6.6 | 71,376 | 74,172 | -3.8 | 6.7 | 510,094 | 557,039 | -0.5 | | Lexus | 0.4 | 6,099 | 4,218 | 44.6 | 0.3 | 46,517 | 24,885 | 86.9 | | BMW Group | 7.7 | 83,279 | 74,602 | 11.6 | 7.2 | 569,338 | 542,167 | 5.0 | | BMW | 6.3 | 66,775 | 63,725 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 474,149 | 426,159 | 11.3 | | Mini | 1.4 | 15,404 | 10,897 | 41.4 | 1.2 | 95,189 | 80,122 | 19.0 | | Mercedes-Benz | 4.9 | 53,458 | 53,447 | 0.0 | 4.9 | 388,876 | 387,780 | 0.3 | | Ford | 3.3 | 35,210 | 31,730 | 11.0 | 3.3 | 260,342 | 236,071 | 10.3 | | Volvo Cars | 2.3 | 25,030 | 30,044 | -16.7 | 2.5 | 195,966 | 225,003 | -13.3 | | Nissan | 1.9 | 23,882 | 25,002 | -4.8 | 1.8 | 187,969 | 198,459 | -5.3 | | SAIC Motor | 2.1 | 23,316 | 20,769 | 12.3 | 2.2 | 176,415 | 149,729 | 17.8 | | Suzuki | 1.0 | 10,242 | 11,934 | -14.2 | 1.1 | 106,860 | 112,857 | -5.3 | | Tesla | 0.8 | 8,837 | 14,769 | -40.2 | 1.2 | 113,019 | 179,338 | -37.0 | | Mazda | 0.8 | 8,772 | 10,795 | -18.7 | 0.9 | 91,175 | 101,475 | -10.2 | | BYD | 1.2 | 13,503 | 4,151 | 225.3 | 1.0 | 84,416 | 21,612 | 290.6 | | Jaguar Land Rover Group | 1.0 | 9,828 | 12,010 | -18.2 | 1.2 | 82,332 | 95,161 | -13.4 | | Land Rover | 0.7 | 9,821 | 10,240 | -4.1 | 1.0 | 79,252 | 85,950 | -7.8 | | Jaguar | 0.3 | 7 | 1,770 | -99.6 | 0.2 | 3,080 | 28,211 | -89.1 | | Honda | 0.6 | 6,024 | 6,068 | -0.7 | 0.5 | 3,314 | 3,777 | -12.3 | | Mitsubishi | 0.3 | 3,327 | 4,224 | -21.3 | 0.4 | 31,221 | 40,491 | -23.6 |
Meanwhile, BYD was up 225% and outsold Tesla by a wide margin, with 13,503 units sold versus Tesla’s 8,837.
BYD has been selling passenger vehicles in Europe for less than 3 years, and it is now already surpassing Tesla on a monthly basis.
At this pace, the Chinese automaker could even potentially outsell Tesla in Europe for the whole year.
Electrek’s Take
BEV sales are up 40% and Tesla’s are down 40%. This is a red flag if I have ever seen one.
It’s shocking to me that Tesla allowed this to happen in such a crucial electric vehicle market.
If I understand correctly, Tesla is not addressing the issue at all because CEO Elon Musk believes the reason Tesla is not performing well in Europe is that “everyone else is doing poorly in Europe” and that Tesla can’t launch its Full Self-Driving system in the market.
Top comment by Beario
Liked by 2 people
BYD cars have better tech and a cheaper price, even with tariffs. BYD also sells hybrid cars, not only EVs so they are pretty much established to corner the market. Hybrids are also popular in Europe because some people are still not sure about EVs for different reasons. BYD is well on pace to take over Europe but I think we all saw that coming.
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One of those points is a complete fabrication, as the data above highlights, and the other is total speculation in my opinion.
I’d be surprised if Tesla’s FSD launch in Europe has a significant impact on demand.
Meanwhile, Tesla is allowing its sales to free-fall in one of the world’s largest automotive markets – acting like it doesn’t know the real reason demand is abysmal: Elon Musk
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