Tesla's UK car sales fall in November, data shows

By Alessandro Parodi

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Tesla's UK car registrations dropped in November, industry data showed on Thursday, following steep declines in other European markets in the month amid intense competition particularly from Chinese rivals.

November registrations, a proxy for sales, of Tesla cars in the UK fell 19% to 3,784 from 4,680 cars a year ago, preliminary data from research group New AutoMotive data showed.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed a 17.2% year-on-year decline to 3,772 Tesla sales in the UK, lagging other legacy automakers and Chinese rivals.

The numbers are slightly different as SMMT and New AutoMotive use different sources of data and methods of calculation.

AGING LINEUP, CHINA RIVALRY ERODE TESLA'S UK SALES

The U.S. EV maker, which recently started rolling out new versions of its best-selling Model Y SUV, has been struggling with an aging lineup and growing competition in a crowded European market, especially from new entrants from China.

There are now more than 150 electric models available to British motorists, according to EV buying advice site Electrifying.com. 

Amid the assortment of EV brands, registrations by Tesla's Chinese peer BYD, which also sells hybrids and plug-in hybrids, more than tripled in November.

Customer sentiment for Tesla has also fallen in recent months, after CEO Elon Musk publicly praised right-wing political figures and after his short stint as head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency.

The brand's November drop in registrations is in line with a 20% fall in Germany and a slump of almost 60% in France and other European markets, which were only partly offset by record-breaking sales in Norway.

Overall, total new car registrations in Britain fell 6.3% to 146,780 vehicles for November, according to New AutoMotive, while SMMT logged a slight 1.6% decline to 151,154 vehicles.

Those of battery-electric cars fell 1.1% to 38,742 vehicles, while plug-in hybrid registrations jumped 3.8% to 16,526, New Automotive data showed.

"On the surface, some consumers may feel that BEVs have increased in cost, but this is not necessarily the case," said Jamie Hamilton, automotive partner and head of electric vehicles at Deloitte.

"The new EV mileage charge will increase running costs of electric vehicles, but changes to the Expensive Car Supplement threshold may mean some drivers are actually better off over the course of their lease period," Hamilton added.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Bernadette Baum)