Tesla's sales in Europe have plummeted for the fifth consecutive month, with new figures revealing a significant 28 per cent drop in May.
The downturn, reported by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, saw Tesla's performance falter across 30 European countries. This stark decline comes despite a robust expansion in the overall electric vehicle market across the continent, highlighting a growing challenge for the US carmaker.
The poor showing is a considerable setback for investors, particularly as it follows Tesla's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, having previously promised a "major rebound" was imminent. That assurance had recently fuelled a buying frenzy among shareholders.
However, those hopes were dashed on Wednesday, as Tesla's stock price fell by more than 4 per cent in early afternoon trading, reflecting widespread investor disappointment and raising questions about the company's immediate future in a key global market.
Musk had said Tesla was sure to get a boost once the company was done retooling its factories to produce a new version of its biggest seller, the Model Y. But that was finished months ago, and the new models are widely available. Investors are now hoping that a cheaper Tesla expected to be out later year will help reverse the sales decline.
Overall, battery electric vehicle sales rose 25% in Europe compared to a year earlier. The market for EVs was particularly strong in Germany, where Musk has angered potential buyers by publicly supporting the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party in elections. Overall EV sales there leapt 45%.
China’s SAIC Motor was the big winner for the month with its European sales of EVs and other kinds of cars jumping 38%. That has allowed the company to leapfrog Tesla, which a year ago was selling more cars in the region.
SAIC sold 18,716 vehicles last month versus Tesla’s 8,729.
The sales drop for Tesla comes at a crucial time for the company as it launches a test run of its driverless ‘robotaxis’ service in Austin, Texas. Musk says that if goes well, he expects to introduce the service in several other cities in quick succession and have as many as a million of the automated cabs on roads by the end of the year.
Reviews so far have been mostly good, but the service is limited to a dozen or so cars and some passengers have circulated videos of problems during their rides, including one showing a robotaxi heading down a lane for opposing traffic.
Federal traffic safety regulators said Tuesday they were looking into the videos.
