Tesla (TSLA) finished 2025 with weaker European sales, as Chinese automaker BYD (BYDDF) continued to outperform Elon Musk’s EV company.
New-car registrations for Tesla models, a reflection of sales, fell 20% year-on-year to 35,280 units in December across the European Union, the U.K., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. On an annual basis, Tesla (TSLA) sales slipped 27% to 238,656 units.
By contrast, China’s BYD saw a remarkable 268.7% jump in European sales, reaching 187,657 units, while its market share rose to 1.4% from 0.4% in 2024.
Battery-electric cars accounted for 17.4% of the EU market share in 2025, an increase from the low baseline of 13.6% one year earlier.
Hybrid-electric car registrations captured 34.5% of the market, remaining the preferred choice among consumers in the EU.
Meanwhile, the combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 35.5%, down from 45.2% in 2024.
The year-over-year variation for December 2025 showed a surge of 51% for battery-electric and 36.7% for plug-in-hybrid electric cars, while hybrid-electric recorded a 5.8% increase.
Source: Press release