Elon. Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla reported monthly sales growth in Europe for the first time in more than a year. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), an industry organization, Tesla's new car registrations in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland increased by nearly 12% year-on-year in February, reaching 17,664 vehicles. New car registrations are a reflection of sales. In the EU alone, its sales increased by 29% compared with the same period last year.
The figure shows that despite months of declining sales, Tesla remains a major contender for European drivers in need of electric vehicles. According to ACEA data, Tesla's monthly new car registrations in Europe have not grown since December 2024.
The company faced a consumer backlash last year over Musk's involvement in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. The billionaire oversaw the Department of Government Efficiency before leaving the administration at the end of May last year.
Meanwhile, competition is growing in Europe from Chinese rival BYD, which has a lineup of electric and hybrid vehicles. Since ACEA started including BYD in its data last summer, the company's sales have surged every month, a sign that BYD has grown into a serious rival to Tesla. BYD recently overtook Tesla as the world's largest seller of electric vehicles.
Last month, BYD's new car registrations in Europe nearly tripled to 17,954, surpassing Tesla. But ACEA data shows that despite BYD's success and Tesla's sales rebound, Europe's local automakers remain the region's sales champions in absolute numbers.
Registrations at Germany's Volkswagen rose 2.2% to 256,452 vehicles last month, while Jeep maker Stellantis' sales rose 9.5% to 170,816 vehicles, according to ACEA. ACEA's data includes electric cars and other types of vehicles.
In recent years, some automakers have had to reassess their product lineups and scale back EV production as they struggle to convince drivers to switch to electric vehicles. Stellantis said in February that it would take a charge of about $26 billion as it switches to non-electric models due to lower-than-expected demand.
Last month, the European pure electric vehicle market grew by nearly 16%. Registrations of hybrid vehicles increased by more than 10%, while registrations of plug-in hybrid models recorded a 33% increase.
Passenger car registrations rose by 1.7% across Europe and 1.4% in the EU, ACEA said. Among them, German sales increased by 3.8%, and Italian sales increased by 14%.