BMW Overtakes Tesla In European EV Sales For the First Time In July 2024

In a notable overtaking in the European electric vehicle (EV) market, BMW surpassed Tesla in monthly EV sales for the first time with 14,869 registered EVs in Europe in July 2024, marking a 35% increase year-over-year. 

According to data from Jato Dynamics, BMW’s success can be attributed to strong demand for its latest EV models including the iX1, i4, and i5. The iX1 and i4 performed particularly well, ranking as the sixth and seventh best-selling EVs in Europe last month, with 4,305 and 4,198 registrations respectively. The newly introduced iX2 also made a strong debut with over 1,300 registrations. 

As a result, this surge propelled the German automaker ahead of Tesla, which saw its registrations decline by 16% to 14,561 units. Despite this setback, Tesla’s Model Y remained the top-selling individual EV model in Europe with 9,544 units sold in July. However, this represents a 16% decrease compared to the same period last year. On a year-to-date basis, Tesla still maintains a substantial lead, having sold 178,700 EVs in Europe through July, compared to BMW’s 97,525.

In terms of the overall European EV market, it experienced a 6% decline in July 2024 compared to the previous year with total registrations reaching 139,300 units. This downturn has been attributed to various factors including uncertainty around purchase prices, declining secondhand values, and changes in government incentives across several European countries.

Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at Jato Dynamics, highlighted the impact of these factors stating, “The lack of clarity around the incentives for — and future of — EVs continues to present a barrier to consumers considering an EV. These factors, alongside the low residual value of EVs, contributed to the decline seen in July.”

Notably, the broader European automotive market showed mixed results with overall vehicle registrations reaching 1.03 million in July, a 2% increase from the previous year. While countries like Germany, France, and Belgium experienced slight declines in sales, growth in markets such as Portugal, Poland, and Slovakia helped offset these losses.

Another noteworthy development in the European EV market is the strong performance of Volvo, which saw significant growth with its new EX30 model becoming the second best-selling EV in Europe, registering 6,573 units in July.

Interestingly, the potential impact of EU tariffs on Chinese EV imports has also begun to affect the market with sales of Chinese brands like MG experiencing a decline. 

Read More: EU Tariffs Slow Chinese EV As Registrations Fall 45% From June

With BMW gaining ground and new players entering the European market, the competition is intensifying. While Tesla maintains its overall lead, this recent shift certainly underlines the dynamic nature of the EV landscape and the market adaptation for all automakers in the industry.

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