Car sales decline in Europe due to electric vehicles: Electric car sales in Europe experienced a 2.8% drop in March, as major companies such as Volkswagen and Stellantis faced a decrease in demand for this type of vehicle.

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battery powered car

Electric car

Tesla’s price cuts

A tough week

Cybertruck recalls

Tesla in China

A decline in battery-powered car sales

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association reported that new car registrations fell to 1.38 million units last month.
In contrast, sales of battery-powered cars dropped by 11% due to decreased demand in countries like Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
This decline is partly attributed to its coincidence with Easter.
It is the second in four months, highlighting the pressures facing the automobile industry amid rising interest rates,
economic slowdown, and the reduction of substantial subsidies boosting demand for electric vehicles.

Decline in electric car sales

In the first quarter of 2024, prominent companies such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla announced declining electric car sales.
This trend has prompted some traditional car manufacturers to reconsider the timing of the gradual phase-out of internal combustion engines.
At the same time, other companies have scaled back their goals related to electric vehicles.
In February, Mercedes lowered its sales expectations, anticipating that battery-powered cars
would represent less than half of its sales for longer than expected.
The impact of the slowdown was more pronounced in Tesla,
which announced a reduction of more than 10% of its global workforce this week.

Tesla’s price cuts

Tesla has lowered its prices in China and the United States,
its main markets after disappointing first-quarter sales contributed to inventory inflation.
In China, the company reduced prices across its models,
with the updated Model 3 price dropping to 231,900 yuan (about $32,000) from the previous 245,900 yuan.

The price of Model Y was reduced to 249,900 yuan (about $34,500) from 263,900 yuan.
In the United States, the price of the cheapest version of Model Y has been reduced to $42,990,
restoring the SUV’s starting price to its lowest level ever.
At the same time, Tesla also reduced the prices of the two higher-priced
versions of Model Y by $2,000 and lowered the price of Model X to its lowest point.

A tough week

The reductions concluded a challenging week for the Austin-based electric car manufacturing company,

even by the standards of its CEO, Elon Musk.
The crisis began when Musk announced in a memo directed at more than 140,000
employees that he would reduce the number by more than 10% globally,
and two senior executives also left the company.

Tesla stated in a Wednesday announcement that it would ask shareholders
to vote again on a compensation and benefits package worth $56 billion for Musk,
invalidated by a Delaware court in January.

Cybertruck recalls

On Friday, the company recalled about 3,900 Cybertruck vehicles to repair or replace gas pedals
that could move out of place and cause unintended acceleration, increasing the risk of an accident.

Tesla announced its first-quarter earnings on April 23.
Its stock has been down more than 40% this year due to concerns about declining sales,
increased competition in China, and Musk’s bold plan for total autonomous driving.

The company reported its first year-over-year sales decline since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,
delivering 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter, far fewer than analysts’ estimates.

Tesla in China

According to Bloomberg calculations based on China Passenger Car Association data,
Tesla’s market share in China dropped to about 6.7% in the last quarter of 2023,
from 10.5% in the year’s first three months.

As Bloomberg reported, Tesla has recently cut production schedules at its Shanghai factory.
The factory manufactures electric vehicles for the Chinese market and exports to other parts of Asia, Europe, and Canada.
Shipments from the factory decreased in the first two months compared to the previous year,
even as total passenger car sales in China increased.

Car sales decline in Europe due to electric vehicles

Car sales decline in Europe due to electric vehicles

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