Business

Tesla's Europe Slump Continues Apace in January
By Reuters | 02 Feb, 2026

January sales fell 88% in Norway and 42% in France after sales on the continent fell 27% in 2025.

Registrations of new Tesla cars in some of its largest European markets showed little signs of recovery in January, one of the lowest-volume months, rising in Sweden and Denmark but falling in France and Norway.

Elon Musk's full-electric brand, whose market in the continent shrank 27% last year, registered 26% more cars in Sweden and 3% more in Denmark in January than in the same month of 2025, with 512 and 458 cars sold respectively, official data showed on Monday.

Its registrations, a proxy for sales, fell 88% to 83 vehicles in Norway, one of the most brand-loyal countries in Europe which has been at the forefront of EV adoption, and by 42% to 661 in France.

Tesla last year unveiled cheaper versions of its Model Y and Model 3 in the United States and Europe, partly to address concerns around an ageing lineup and intensifying competition from brands such as China's BYD.

But despite a pickup in overall battery-electric car sales in Europe, the U.S. brand has struggled to recover market share since its CEO Musk -- who led U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) -- backed European far-right figures.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik, Camille Raynaud and Alessandro Parodi, editing by Bernadette Baum)