Tesla Model Y maintains its status, becoming the best-selling car in Europe in March. The electric SUV has outsold all competitors, including Volkswagen Golf and Dacia Sandero, which are very popular in the region.
According to Jato Dynamics, sales of electric vehicles have begun to decline. Meanwhile, the popularity of hybrids is growing. A total of 382,700 hybrid vehicles were registered between January and March 2024, marking the highest number of quarterly registrations since 2021. During Tesla’s Q1 2024 earnings call, Elon Musk also noted this trend.
Tesla’s sales in Europe have been weakened by the growing popularity of hybrids. The manufacturer’s share of the electric vehicle market fell from 27.3% in March 2023 to 19.9% in the same period this year. Despite this, the company was able to sell 26,847 Model Ys. This was more than 1,000 units more than Volkswagen Golf. The German car took second place with 25,779 units sold.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at Jato Dynamics said: “The average price of a new car is still prohibitively high, and consumers are understandably hesitant about making the shift from petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to electric models.”
The analyst noted that hybrid sales were up 18 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023. Munoz said consumers are more accustomed to hybrids because they can not only be plugged in but can also be filled with gas at traditional charging stations.
“Consumers are familiar with hybrid vehicles; they’ve been in the market for more than two decades now. For many drivers, they are the best option: cheaper than EVs at point of purchase and not reliant on public charging infrastructure that simply isn’t there in many markets,” he added.
Despite the rise in popularity of hybrids, Tesla also led the electric vehicle market. A total of 39,000 units were registered in Europe in March. In second place was BMW, and Volvo followed in third. In total, 1,377,541 vehicles of all types were registered in Europe in March.
