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Tesla Displaced from Western Europe Throne, No Longer #1 BEV OEM

Tesla has been displaced as the number 1 electric vehicle OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the Western Europe region, according to the Q3 reports. The Californian automaker has lost a chunk of the market share in the region when compared with last year’s Q3 figures. They are now below the Volkswagen Group and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in terms of units sold in the last 12 months.

Tesla Displaced from Western Europe Throne, No Longer #1 BEV OEM

Tesla’s market share in Western Europe decreased from 33.8% in Q3 2019 to 13.5% in Q3 2020. The company was dominating the sales last year, but it is now facing a lot of competition. The change in market share is also quite huge. The Western European region consists of 18 member nations. The EU members before the 2004 enlargement, along with Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland are the markets being considered in this study.

This Year’s Sales

The third quarter of this year saw Tesla drop a lot in terms of sales figures. In the same period, many other automobile companies increased their sales by a huge margin. Consequently, Tesla sold lesser units in Q3 than Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi as well as Hyundai Motors. Volkswagen introduced their ID.4 in September this year, following last year’s launch of the ID.3. Hyundai also has the Kona selling fast in the European region.

Of course, we have to consider the fact that Tesla is a single company OEM, while others are groups of companies. Most companies have sold electric cars at lower margins to meet the CO2 emission requirements. Many have also expanded BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) sales by offering a lot of new incentives.

If we consider the sales in the last 12 months, Tesla sold around 97,600 units. This is considerably lower than the other groups in the same period, who sold more than 100K. This dip in sales has a lot to do with the weakened demand of the Model S and the Model X. With the major focus on the low-priced Model 3 and recently-launched Model Y, the higher-end cars are out of the spotlight. Of course, the COVID-19 situation has a major role to play in this. Despite that, other companies did manage to pull out sales.

Matthias Schmidt’s Analysis

Industry analyst Matthias Schmidt posted a sales graph on Twitter, comparing Tesla with the other OEMs. He is also the publisher of the European Electric Car Report. He posted the graph, along with a caption that said “Traditional OEMs crash Tesla’s European party.”

The graph shows the 12-month rolling sales figures for various manufacturers from January 2019 to the present day. It clearly shows the recent dip in performance from Tesla, starting from May this year. The Californian automaker can be seen making some clear progress from the beginning of this period. A major spike in sales numbers is visible in the final quarter of 2019. This can be attributed to the surge in sales of Model 3 and Model Y.

From the beginning of this year though, there has been a gradual decrease for Tesla. At the same time, Volkswagen and Hyundai have made significant progress. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has had its ups and downs, but a good Q3 helped them move above Tesla. Hyundai may not have overtaken Tesla yet, but the surge is there to be seen. The PSA (Peugeot Société Anonyme) Peugeot Citroën Group has also made big progress in the first 9 months this year.

During the first nine months of 2020, BEV sales of the leading groups were:

  • Volkswagen Group: 87,000
  • Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance: 83,000
  • Tesla: 63,000 (down 12,000 year-over-year)

Our Opinion

Just like in 2019, Tesla is expected to increase sales in the final quarter of the year. Last year, it had managed to sell a total of 110K units. That number could be crossed this year, especially after the MIC Model 3 import from China. But they will most likely be beaten by some of the other OEMs. Both Volkswagen and RNM Alliance have a significant lead over Tesla.

At the end of 2019, Tesla was the clear leader when the 12-month rolling figures are considered. They have had a very good year since last September, with their share price skyrocketing as well. However, the limited demand for certain models has clearly hurt them. They may be looking forward to a strong end to this year, but they have been displaced from the Western European throne, that’s for sure.

Mihir Tasgaonkar
Mihir Tasgaonkar
A mechanical engineer who loves reading and writing about new technologies in the automobile industry.

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