The European car market is sluggish, with February sales experiencing the largest decline in five months, and Tesla's market share further declining

European car sales plummet, but Tesla becomes the biggest loser?

According to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association on Tuesday, new car registrations in Europe fell by 3.1% year-on-year in February, totaling 963,540 vehicles, marking the largest decline in five months.

By type, the sales decline is mainly concentrated in the traditional fuel vehicle sector: gasoline vehicle sales plummeted by 24%, while diesel vehicle sales fell even more sharply, with a decline of 28%. In contrast, sales of pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles surged by 26%.

Specifically, except for France, other major European markets saw explosive growth in electric vehicle sales. New registrations of pure electric vehicles in Germany increased by 31%, Italy by 38%, and the UK soared by 42%. Spain is the only major market in Europe where total car sales increased, with electric vehicle registrations skyrocketing by 61%.

This trend indicates that the traditional car market in Europe is rapidly shrinking, and automakers are facing unprecedented structural adjustment pressures.

Tesla becomes the biggest loser, with sales down 40% year-on-year

Although electric vehicle sales in Europe increased in February, the market leader Tesla did not share in this growth dividend at all.

Data shows that Tesla's total sales in Europe in February were less than 17,000 vehicles, while the figure exceeded 28,000 vehicles in the same period last year, representing a year-on-year decline of 40%.

Market share also shrank accordingly. In February, Tesla's overall market share and electric vehicle market share in Europe were 1.8% and 10.3%, respectively, both lower than last year's 2.8% and 21.6%.

Opinions suggest that the sharp decline in Tesla's sales data is mainly due to consumer dissatisfaction with Musk's political stance and his support for the far-right German political party "Alternative for Germany."

European automakers in crisis: A survival battle under triple pressure

European automakers are facing an extremely difficult year, with multiple factors leading to severe challenges in their domestic market.

Firstly, the continued downturn in major European economies has severely impacted consumer confidence. Earlier data showed that the Eurozone's economic growth stagnated in the fourth quarter of last year, dragged down by the economic contraction of France and Germany, the two major European economies.

In addition, the threat of U.S. tariffs is increasing, and Chinese automakers led by BYD are continuing to bring competitive pressure.

Despite this, Volkswagen Group, Europe's largest automaker, still expects to maintain profitability this year; Mercedes-Benz and BMW, however, anticipate that profit margins will narrow due to pricing pressures in the Chinese market and trade tensions