Tesla new registrations plummet in key European markets in November

By Alessandro Parodi and Marie Mannes

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Tesla registrations in several key European markets plunged in November from a year earlier as the U.S. EV maker continued to struggle to stem market share losses despite rolling out new versions of its best-selling Model Y.

Norway however bucked the trend with record sales in the month. The country, Tesla's first market outside of North America more than a decade ago, has been the company's second biggest European market after Britain so far this year.

Monthly registrations, a proxy for sales, slumped by 58% in France to 1,593 vehicles sold, by 59% to 1,466 cars in Sweden, by 49% to 534 cars in Denmark, by 44% in the Netherlands to 1,627, and by 9% in Spain to 1,523, official data showed.

But in Norway, they almost trebled to 6,215 cars, beating the country's annual sales record with one month to spare.

Its overall market share in the continent was down to 1.6% in January-October, from 2.4% in the same period last year.

SLOWDOWN FOLLOWS MUSK COMMENTS ON POLITICS

Tesla's Nasdaq-listed shares were 1.4% lower in pre-market trade on Monday.

The company's slowdown in Europe began late last year after its CEO Elon Musk publicly praised right-wing political figures, setting off protests across the region.

In November, a large fire at a Tesla dealership in Southern France prompted investigators to launch a criminal probe, local media reported.

Musk has toned down political commentary since stepping down from the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, but Tesla’s European business has not recovered.

TESLA NOVELTY FADES AMID GROWING COMPETITION 

Analysts pointed to growing competition in a crowded European market, especially from new entrants from China, and Tesla's aging lineup.

Consumer sentiment has weakened. Data analytics and advisory firm Escalent said in a study seen by Reuters that 38% of respondents to a survey in Europe's five largest car markets feel the brand's novelty has worn off, and it trails competitors on design, quality and emotional appeal.

Many European buyers are also increasingly choosing hybrid cars over fully electric models, French car body PFA said.

November sales at Chinese EV maker BYD, which unlike Tesla also sells hybrids and plug-in hybrids, jumped 268% to 2,934 vehicles in Spain and 65% to 570 in the Netherlands, their best month on record in the country.

A NEW, CHEAPER MODEL Y

While Musk spent much of this year focused on Tesla's robotics pursuits and winning shareholder approval for his $1 trillion pay package, his brand tried to win back buyers by launching a refreshed Model Y earlier this year.

Only a handful of cheaper Model Ys, priced at 40,000 euros ($46,468) in Germany, had reached European markets at the end of November, however.

Sales of the Model Y, which in 2023 was Europe's best-selling model, dropped by 67% in Sweden, 62% in the Netherlands, 55% in Portugal and 74% in Denmark. They jumped 19% to 3,648 cars in Norway.

($1 = 0.8608 euros)

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, Marie Mannes in Stockholm, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)