BYD outsells Tesla in EU for second month, Stellantis returns to sales growth

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By Alessandro Parodi

(Reuters) -Chinese EV maker BYD sold three times as many new cars in the European Union last month than in August 2024, surpassing U.S. competitor Tesla for the second consecutive month, data from the European auto lobby ACEA showed on Thursday.

Stellantis returned to sales growth in Europe for the first time in over a year, as the overall market expanded with a boost from plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery-electric (BEV) sales. 

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Europe’s battered car industry faces challenges including U.S. import tariffs, competition from China and difficulties in profitably meeting domestic regulations for EV adoption.

Carmakers have ramped up PHEV sales to comply with emission standards with more affordable and more profitable cars than pure EVs. Chinese brands have also used the technology to minimise the impact of the European Union’s tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, and to win over China-skeptic European drivers.

BY THE NUMBERS 

Sales in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association rose 4.7% to 0.8 million cars in August, ACEA data showed. 

Registrations at Volkswagen and Renault rose 4.8% and 7.8% year-on-year, respectively, and were up 2.2% at Stellantis, growing for the first time since February 2024.

Tesla’s EU sales dropped 36.6%, squeezing its market share to 1.2% from 2% a year ago. BYD’s sales were up 201.3% to give it 1.3% of the market. 

Sales of MG-owner SAIC Motor, also from China, jumped 59.4% in August, taking its year-to-date market share to 1.9% and making it the tenth best seller in the bloc so far this year.

Total EU car sales rose 5.3%. Registrations of battery electric, hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid cars were up 30.2%, 54.5% and 14.1%, respectively, to account collectively for 62.2% of the bloc’s registrations, up from 52.8% in August 2024. 

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, editing by Kirsten Donovan)