Despite a surge in electric vehicle (EV) demand, Tesla’s car registrations in the UK dropped by a steep 64% in October compared to the same period last year. According to industry data, Tesla had only 971 new vehicle registrations in October, a significant decline from 2,677 in October 2023.
Industry Performance
- Overall battery electric vehicle registrations in the UK rose by 24.5% in October, but Tesla failed to capitalize on this trend.
- BYD Co Ltd, Tesla’s Chinese rival, saw a significant increase in registrations, from 183 units in October last year to 780 units in the same month this year.
- Total vehicle registrations across all fuel types dropped by 6% to 144,288 units.
Top Performers
- Volkswagen was the top-selling automaker in the UK in October, with over 13,000 registrations.
- BMW came in second, with around 9,400 registrations.
Implications for Tesla
- Tesla delivered 1,808,581 vehicles globally in 2023. To achieve growth this year, the company must deliver at least 514,926 vehicles in the last quarter.
- This target is ambitious, as Tesla has never delivered over 500,000 EVs in a quarter.
- The company reported deliveries of 462,890 vehicles in the third quarter, up 6.4% year-over-year and 4.3% quarter-over-quarter.
Challenges Ahead
- Deliveries fell 8.5% year-on-year in the first quarter and 4.8% in the second quarter.
- Tesla researcher Troy Teslike notes that low sales in Europe are likely to impact the company’s aim to prevent a drop in yearly deliveries.
- “Tesla is trying to reach 514,925 deliveries this quarter to avoid a drop in yearly totals compared to the 1,808,581 units delivered last year. However, even if they sell out all their inventory in the US, it’s still going to be tough to hit that number because sales in Europe are down too,” Teslike said.