(Reuters) – BYD has sold more electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla for the first time, according to a survey by the Jato Dynamics market analysis company.
BYD, which also manufactures plug-in hybrid vehicles, sold 7,231 battery-powered electric vehicles in Europe in April, while Tesla had 7,165 units, the market research company said.
“This is a decisive time for Europe’s automobile market, especially when you consider Tesla led the European market of Bev for years, while BYD only officially started operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022,” said Felipe Muñoz’s global jet analyst.
The demand for electric vehicles in Europe remains stable. Bev licensing increased 28% in April compared to last year, largely driven by Chinese car brands.
Despite the imposition of EU tariffs on electric vehicles manufactured in China, the plates of these cars increased 59% in the month from the previous year, while automakers in Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States recorded a 26% growth.
Weak demand from Tesla
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The US automaker had the first annual drop in sales last year and analysts expect another fall this year after a 13% decline in the first quarter.
Musk said earlier this week that Tesla had already recovered sales, and that the demand was strong in other regions other than Europe.
Musk’s political opinions have caused waves of protests against Tesla in the US and Europe, leading to a drop in brand sales.
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In addition, production stops to prepare Tesla’s factories for the production of Model Y redesigned crossover caused a drop and vehicle sales of the company in the first quarter.
Analysts have also attributed the drop in sales that customers are expecting the cheapest versions of the new Model Y, Tesla’s best -selling vehicle to become more widely available.
