Finally Elon Musk had something to cheer about in Europe for a change—sales of new Tesla cars collapsed by roughly a third in August.
The good news is it could have been much worse.
Throughout most of this year, the one market that consistently has failed to respond to Musk’s combination of stimulative price cuts, discount financing rates and, in the case of his Model 3, light design refreshes has been the old continent.
Europeans, spoiled for choice in a stagnant overall car market, are opting for rival brands with newer models better suited for domestic roads. As a result, Tesla has suffered a steady and persistent drop in market share beginning in March.
Following month after month of disproportionately weak sales, registrations of new Tesla cars fell exactly in line with the overall European EV market in August, providing some much-needed relief.
According to data published on Thursday by industry association ACEA, Tesla volumes dropped 36% last month versus the previous year to just 21,701 vehicles.
This decrease was bang in line with overall EV demand across the broader European market. Including both EU members as well as non-EU states like the UK, Switzerland and Norway, EV sales in August shrank by the same amount.
“The electric car market is now on a continual downward trajectory,” the ACEA said in a statement.
China looking brighter
While August is one of the least meaningful months on the calendar in terms of car sales, demand for EVs among Europeans also fell in May and July and was flat in June.
As a result, the continent’s EV market has now shrunk 5.5% in the first eight months to 1.21 million units. By comparison, overall demand eked out a 1.7% gain once other powertrains like hybrids are included.
