Tesla’s UK sales rebound in June, while the road remains bumpy in Europe

Tesla saw a modest rebound in the UK last month, with new car sales rising 12 per cent year-on-year in June, according to fresh data from research group New AutoMotive. The US electric vehicle (EV) maker delivered 7,891 vehicles in the UK in June, up from 7,019 during the same month in 2024. The boost coincided with the start of deliveries for an updated Model Y.

Overall, the UK’s new car registrations rose 12.8 per cent in June to 187,655 units, driven by a 45.5 per cent surge in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales. Despite this sector-wide boom, Tesla’s year-to-date sales in Britain remain nearly 2 per cent lower than in the same period last year, indicating that June’s uptick may not signal a sustained trend.

June’s improvement comes on the heels of a dismal May for Tesla in the UK, when sales tumbled more than 45 per cent year-on-year. The company sold just 1,758 vehicles in May, down sharply from 3,244 a year earlier. That plunge came amid rising criticism of CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly polarising political presence in Europe and mounting competition from rivals, particularly Chinese automakers.

Tesla is slowing its grip in European markets

Indeed, Tesla’s position across Europe is showing clear signs of erosion. In Q1 2025, the company posted steep sales declines in almost every major European market. According to registration data compiled by Reuters, Tesla's sales plummeted by 62.2 per cent in Germany, 55.3 per cent in both Sweden and Denmark, 49.7 per cent in the Netherlands, and 41.1 per cent in France. Other notable declines were seen in Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, contributing to an unweighted average drop of over 30 per cent across the region.

This downturn is not due to a shrinking EV market, far from it. European EV sales grew 22 per cent in Q1, with strong gains in countries like the UK, Spain, and Italy. Tesla's slipping sales and shrinking market share reflect deeper challenges: ageing vehicle models, intensified Chinese competition from brands like BYD, and the polarising public image of its CEO.

Even in the UK, Tesla’s only bright spot in Q1, its market share declined by more than four percentage points, despite slight growth in total unit sales. As competitors gain ground and European EV adoption accelerates, Tesla faces a critical juncture, and if the company does not take any immediate action, its dominance in key global markets may continue to fade.