Tesla's Sales Are Getting Worse In Europe, BYD Jaking Sharply

JAKARTA - Tesla's dominance in the European electric car market is starting to wobble. The sale of the car made by Elon Musk company has continued to decline for eight consecutive months until last August. This condition was triggered by intense competition from China's and conventional automotive manufacturers, as well as negative consumer sentiment towards the CEO's political actions.

Reuters reported on Monday, September 1, a significant decline was seen in several European countries. In France, Tesla's new car registration fell 47.3 percent in August compared to the previous year. In Sweden, the decline was even more drastic, reaching 84 percent, while Denmark fell 42 percent. Although the newly launched Model Y was expected to boost sales, the data showed no positive impact.

According to analysts, there are several factors that cause this decline. First, the Tesla product line is considered old. Since launching Model Y in 2020, Tesla has not released a new mass model. Meanwhile, competitors, especially from China, continue to flood the market with a variety of fresh, more competitive models. Matthias Schmidt, a European automotive market analyst, called this condition a "more competitive market environment."

Another factor that is no less important is the controversy surrounding Elon Musk. A survey from Electrifying.com shows that more than half of respondents are reluctant to buy Tesla because of Musk's increasingly divisive political influence.

Apart from competition and politics, the resale value of the used Tesla car is also a problem. After Tesla drastically cut the price of new cars since 2023, the price of used cars has also fallen. This makes many potential buyers switch to the used car market which offers a much cheaper price, than buying new cars.

Despite facing tough challenges in much of Europe, Tesla still recorded a 21.3 percent spike in sales in Norway. However, even there, competitors from China, such as BYD, showed much more rapid growth with a registration spike of up to 218 percent.

This situation indicates that fighting for the European electric vehicle market is heating up and is no longer dominated by just one player. Moreover, specifically for BYD in Europe, it managed to increase sales by more than 200 percent in July and more than 250 percent during the first seven months of 2025.