For the first time in Europe, BMW has sold more electric vehicles than Tesla. Despite a decline in the region’s sales of electric vehicles, BMW dominated the market. BMW is closing the gap with Tesla in the EU as EV sales rise.
New data from Jato Dynamics shows that 1.03 million cars were registered in Europe in May of this year, a 2% increase over the same period the previous year. Although sales declined in Belgium (-7%), France (-2%), and Germany (-2%), other EU markets contributed to the growth.
While the UK (+3%), Italy (+5%), and Spain (+5%) witnessed modest growth, Portugal (+19%), Poland (+19%), and Slovakia (+12%) contributed to the increase in sales.
SUV registrations reached a new high in July of 554,000, up 6% year over year. Owner of Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, and Volvo, Geely, was the main growth engine. With a 26% market share, Volkswagen led the volume in the meantime, followed by Hyundai (including Kia) at 12%.
Among the models registered, 5,022 were luxury (F-SUV) models, up 32% year over year. Last month, registrations of mid-size cars decreased 7% to 106,500, while those of large SUVs increased 23% to 27,600.
In July 2024, sales of electric vehicles in Europe decreased 6% year over year, as per Jato’s figures. After 139,300 new models were registered in July 2023, the EV market share decreased to 13.5% from 14.6%.
BMW led EV sales in Europe for the first time last month, with EV sales reaching 14,869, up 35%. Tesla was second with 14,561 models registered, followed by Volkswagen (12,213), Volvo (10,533), and Audi (8,618).
BMW’s latest models, including the iX1, i4, and i5, saw considerable growth, while the new iX2 notched over 1,300 registrations.
The iX1 and i4 were the sixth and seventh best-selling EVs in Europe last month, with 4,305 (+25%) and 4,198 (+23%) models registered.
Despite registrations slipping 16% YOY, Tesla’s Model Y was still the top-selling EV last month in Europe, with 9,544 units sold.
Another highlight from the report is Volvo’s climbing market share. Volvo was the market share winner, gaining 5.5%, followed by BMW at 3.2%. Volvo’s new EX30 was the second best-selling EV in Europe, with 6,573 registrations.