2025 was tough for Tesla in Europe with sales down by a third

The numbers for 2025 are finally here, and they tell a hard story for Tesla. Until last year, the American carmaker seemed unstoppable. Their electric cars were the most popular choice for drivers across Europe. But the latest data shows that the company hit a wall. Total sales for Tesla in Europe dropped from roughly 326,000 cars in 2024 to just over 235,000 in 2025 - a drop of 27.8 percent.

This decline happened across almost every major country. It seems the refreshed Model Y did not create the excitement the company hoped for. While production sped up after a slow start, the buyers simply did not show up in the same numbers as before. The demand for Tesla's EVs seems to have cooled off significantly.

Germany used to be a huge market for Tesla's growth. Unfortunately, in 2025, sales there crashed. The numbers fell by a shocking 48.4 percent. They went from over 37,500 units in 2024 down to roughly 19,000 units. That is nearly half the sales gone in just one year.

France was also a difficult market. The government there changed the rules for their "bonus écologique," or green bonus. These new rules effectively cut out the new Model 3 because it is made in China. As a result, sales in France dropped by 37.5 percent. They fell from 40,732 cars down to 25,477.

The bad news spread through Northern and Western Europe as well. Sweden saw a massive drop. Sales there plunged by 66.9 percent, falling from 21,897 to just 7,252. Belgium also saw a steep decline of 53.1 percent, with sales dropping from 21,182 to 9,933.

The Netherlands followed this trend with a 44.5 percent drop to 16,683 cars. Denmark was not far behind, losing 41.0 percent of its volume to finish at 9,457 sales. Even smaller markets felt the pain. Finland dropped 29.6 percent to 2,618 cars, and Switzerland fell 27.8 percent to 6,446.

In the south, Italy saw sales dip by 17.9 percent, landing at 12,847 vehicles. Portugal dropped 22.3 percent to 7,585. Spain had the smallest loss among the major losers, but it still went down by 4.1 percent to 16,005 cars. Austria and Poland also saw red, dropping 19.2 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively.

There was only one bright spot on the map: Norway. Sales there actually jumped up by 41.3 percent. Tesla sold 34,285 electric cars in Norway in 2025, up from 24,259 the year before. But this success is a bit of a trick. The government in Norway plans to change tax rules for EVs in 2026, with expensive cars losing some tax breaks. Drivers in Norway simply rushed to buy their cars in the last two months of 2025 to beat the deadline. This pulled buyers from 2026 into 2025. Because of this, next year will likely be very hard for Tesla in Norway.

The United Kingdom remains the biggest market for Tesla in Europe. But even there, the company could not grow. Sales slipped by 9.6 percent, ending at 45,513 cars. This is concerning because Chinese car companies are bringing more electric cars to the UK, making 2026 very difficult.

Why is this happening? Reports suggest a few reasons. The cars look mostly the same as they did years ago, and the lineup simply feels stale to many buyers. There is more competition than ever before. Finally, the behavior of CEO Elon Musk has upset some potential buyers, hurting the brand image. Can Tesla recover in 2026? It looks tough. With no backlog of orders and stronger rivals, the company needs to change something fast. Unless they lower prices or launch a truly new car, the slide will only continue.

Via