BMW EV sales overtake Tesla in Europe as tariffs bite Chinese brands hard
Slipping sales of Tesla Model Y and Model 3 sees BMW brand outsell US brand while Chinese brands struggle in EuropeFor the first time, BMW has sold more EVs in Europe than Tesla.
It follows the German carmaker’s July sales of 14,869 electric cars in the EU, 308 more than its US rival.
Selling just 9644 Model Ys (down 16 per cent) and only 4694 Model 3s (down 17 per cent) it appears Tesla was hit hardest by the European downturn in EV sales that saw total sales decline by around 6 per cent on the sales figures for this time last year.
Analysts are blaming a lack of government incentives and worries over resale values for EVs as the driving factors causing less deliveries.
Despite the sales drop, the Tesla Model Y (9644) was still the overall best-selling EV in the region followed by the Volvo EX30 (6573 sales) and the Volkswagen ID.4 (5295).
Extra demand for hybrids and combustion vehicles, meanwhile, saw the European market grow in size by 2 per cent year-on-year, with total sales rising to 1.03 million cars, of which 54 per cent were SUVs.
In Australia, EV sales are up almost nine per cent year-on-year but in recent months they have begun to wane with Tesla’s July sales of 2592 down from 4683 the month prior, a drop of 44 per cent.
Sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrids, meanwhile, now account for more than 20 per cent of the market, largely led by booming demand plug-less Toyota hybrid vehicles.
While the likes of BMW were celebrating an uplift in EV deliveries, sales of imported vehicles from China fell in response to new tariffs introduced in Europe.
Some of the worst hit brands were BYD and MG, with their sales reportedly falling by 45 per cent in July compared to the month before.
Distorting the figure was the June rush of consumers eager to snap up vehicles at pre-tariff prices before they were introduced on July 5, 2024.
It's also worth mentioning that compared to a year ago, brands like BYD still sold three times as many cars as they did in 2023 in the same month of July, although MG saw a 20 per cent decline and Polestar recorded a huge 42 per cent drop-off in volumes.
According to analysts, July's disastrous figures will only be a blip and all brands will recover and continue to grow, despite new import taxes as high as 38.1 per cent.
BYD, for example, has already announced a new plant in Hungary that will see its Euro-made cars escape the charges that were designed to halt the flood of cheap EVs that are subsidised by the Chinese government.
While the EU has ramped up its tariffs on Chinese-made cars and the US is considering huge local taxes of up to 100 per cent, Australia has no plans yet to introduce punitive tariffs to kerb consumer buying habits.
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