Early car sales data for January is starting to arrive from countries across the pond, and they paint an alarming picture for Tesla. Sales are crashing in France, Germany, and the UK—all affluent countries that are key markets for Tesla’s electric vehicles. Coming on the heels of a large financial miss, it’s just one more problem for the automaker.
Tesla sales dropped around 13 percent across Europe in 2024, but so far this year, the scale of the problem is far greater. In France, sales of new Teslas fell by 63 percent, while total car sales in the country fell by just 6 percent, with EV sales dropping just half a percent.
Germany was already looking like lost ground for Tesla—its 41 percent drop in 2024 accounted for most of Tesla’s lost sales across Europe. That must make the 59 percent drop in German Tesla sales recorded during January even more painful on the profit and loss statements.
Across the Channel, the British auto industry just released its sales data for January. Here, Tesla sales fell less precipitously—just 12 percent. However, battery EV sales were 35 percent higher in the UK in January 2025 than in January 2024. The cake is growing, but Tesla is getting to eat less and less of it.
In fact, no Tesla cracked the UK’s top 10 best-seller list last month, something that has regularly happened in the past, although that may be due to having just two models for >sale in most markets.
Large declines have also been recorded in Sweden (44 percent), Norway (38 percent), and the Netherlands (42 percent).
Lol mate look I’m thinking you gotta go Hilux or transit. Yeah you can’t get everywhere on a transit especially if it’s muddy, but you can have a workshop in there. Like I say, throw some solar panels on the roof, a decent battery, inverter, you can have 2k of 240v easily. Also when it’s raining you can sit in it all have a cuppa. I know they are fuckin bland vehicles, but it is what you make it. 4wd transit might make you feel better about it? But I’ve only ever seen a couple
I’m feeling like buying a decommissioned ambulance would be about the same as getting a used transit, with all the electrics installed already, including batteries, and only need to do the inverter and panels. Almost no faffing about with installing storage, maybe just a flam vault and a lockbox for the really expensive stuff. Almost all of them have 1-3 seats already in the back, so seating for the crew is sorted. Most good condition ones I’ve seen are £5k at 110k-170k miles.