Tesla’s (TSLA) European sales almost halved in January as it kicked off the year in miserable fashion despite a growing electric vehicle market. TSLA’s car registrations across the European union, the European Free Trade Association and the UK slid 45.2% year-on-year to 9,945 last month, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
TSLA Loses Market Share
Tesla’s overall market share in the region also declined to 1% from 1.8% from a year earlier, as overall vehicle sales fell 2.1% with declines in France, Germany and Italy. The company lost out even as new battery-electric car sales grew by 34% to 124,341 units, capturing a 15% market share, as petrol car registrations saw a significant decline of 18.9%.
Sales of hybrid-electric cars also increased by 18.4%, boosted by significant growth in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Tesla could be missing out with Elon Musk’s association with U.S. President Donald Trump arguably not going down well with European consumers.
Meanwhile, China’s state-owned SAIC Motor saw sales growth of 36.8% as deliveries rose to almost 23,000, motoring well past Tesla. Volkswagen (VWAGY) group sales rose 5.4%, with its VW brand sales up 16.6% to nearly 113,000. Porsche (POAHY) sales dipped 10%.
With 244,763 new cars registered last month, the market share for petrol dropped to 29.4%, down from 35.4% in the same month last year. Similarly, the diesel car market declined by 27%, resulting in a 10% market share for diesel vehicles.
Among the other large carmakers, Stellantis (STLA) saw its sales decline by 16%, while Renult’s (RNLSY) sales rose over 5% from a year before. Toyota (TM) sales dipped 4.4% but its luxury brand Lexus saw a 43.7% rise in deliveries. Ford (F) sales fell more than 12% from a year before.
TSLA’s Tough Times
Faltering European sales mirrors a decline in China, where the company is facing increased competition and a price war. Tesla’s China-made electric vehicles plummeted in January to 63,238 units, down 11.5% from the 71,447 sold during the same month a year ago.
And last year Tesla registered its first ever annual decline in deliveries.
Is TSLA a Buy, Sell or Hold?
On Wall Street, analysts have a consensus Hold rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buy, 12 Hold and 10 Sell ratings. The average TSLA price target of $351.38 implies around 6% upside.
