Tesla's Struggles in European Market and Beyond
TapTechNews May 22nd news, according to Bloomberg, Tesla got off to a rocky start in the European market in the second quarter, falling short of expectations previously set by CEO Elon Musk. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said on Wednesday that Tesla registered only 13,951 vehicles in April, a 2.3% year-on-year decline and the lowest sales since January 2023. In contrast, the overall sales of electric vehicles in Europe increased by 14% during the same period.
The shipment volume of Tesla's Shanghai factory also showed a similar downward trend, in sharp contrast to the strong growth of the entire plug-in electric vehicle industry in China. TapTechNews noted that Musk said in an investor conference call on April 23 that the company expected to rebound from several issues that affected output in the first quarter, including the Red Sea shipping disruption and the suspected arson of high-voltage power lines near the German factory. We think there will be a significant improvement in the second quarter, Musk said in Tesla's first-quarter earnings conference call.
On Wednesday, Tesla's share price fell 1.8% pre-market. So far this year, Tesla's share price has cumulatively fallen by 25%.
In countries such as Germany and Sweden, electric vehicle subsidies have been stopped or reduced in recent months, which has dampened the growth momentum of electric vehicle sales in Europe. At the same time, manufacturers such as the Volkswagen Group and the Mercedes-Benz Group are rethinking their product plans. Volkswagen plans to produce more plug-in hybrid vehicles, while Mercedes-Benz plans to produce fuel vehicles until the 2030s.
In Germany, the largest automotive market in Europe, although most brands are facing challenges due to subsidy cuts, Tesla's performance is significantly worse than that of its peers. The overall registered volume of electric vehicles in that country was basically flat that month, while Tesla's sales plummeted by 32%.
In the UK, Tesla's registered volume decreased by 25% in April, and the cumulative sales in the first four months of this year decreased by 14%.