That didn’t take long. It seems as if the bottom may have fallen out of demand for new Tesla products across the pond – and may pundits are pointing to the antics of its CEO as a cause.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the Tesla brand has been underperforming the EV industry overall as of late. Last year’s registrations (which is a good metric since it uses actual data instead of delivery estimates which are occasionally opaque, even at the best of times) are apparently down about 13 percent across the European Union. Looking at specific countries, sales of Tesla machines are said to have sank 41 percent last year in Germany compared to a 27 percent decline in the overall sales of EVs.
It’s a similar story in France, where the brand recorded just over a thousand new registrations in the first month this year, a 6.2 percent dip. Pundits say that figure far outstrips the decline in EV demand which was roughly flat, down approximately half a percentage point compared to the same time last year.
Why? Competition is part of the puzzle, with rival automakers showing up to the game with increasingly desirable cars for those who are in the market for an EV. It doesn’t help that Tesla is viewed has having an increasingly aging lineup of cars, a sin for which its supporters used to pillory legacy brands. Other people are pointing to the behavior of Elon Musk himself having an impact on demand, after he plunged into EU politics by cozying up to the far-right Alternative for Germany party and de facto taking the role of First Lady to President Trump.
There are other issues, of course, such as the fluctuation of rebates and the fact that Tesla always pushes December sales to inflate its year-end numbers which could affect the number of vehicles on the ground. Though that would have also been true with January last year which is why one cites year-over-year numbers. Remember the old joke that 43 percent of statistics are made up, half the time.
In total across selected major European countries like the UK, France, and others, talking heads say Tesla delivered 5,517 vehicles in January which represents a 47.7 percent decrease compared to the 10,556 taken home during the same month last year in those countries.
[Image: Tesla]
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