On October 25th JATO Dynamics, a research firm, released a list of the best-selling cars in Europe in September based on registration data. That month, Tesla Model 3 became the best-selling car in Europe. In the top 10, except for Tesla Model 3, none of them are pure electric vehicles. This is the first time that electric vehicles have reached the top of monthly sales in Europe, and it is also the first time that sales of pure electric models have exceeded those of internal combustion engines.
In September, Tesla Model 3 registered 24591 vehicles, up 58% from a year earlier, followed by Renault Clio, Dacia Sandero and Volkswagen Golf. With the exception of Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Tusheng, registrations of the top 10 European models have declined due to a shortage of semiconductors, with Volkswagen Golf, Renault Captur and Opel / Vauxhall Corsa plummeting by about 40 per cent.
It is also understandable that Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Tusheng are on the list and maintain sales growth. Sales of almost all car companies in Europe fell sharply in September compared with the same period last year, and Hyundai was the only one to achieve a 26.9 per cent increase in sales in Europe. Tesla has also done very well in the European market, where sales this year are up 77 per cent over the same period last year.
In terms of sales of all-electric models, the Model 3 was also the best-selling all-electric vehicle in Europe in September, far ahead of sales. Model Y was not far behind, ranking second. The Volkswagen ID.3 came in third with a narrow gap of 624 vehicles behind the Model Y. Apart from Model 3, Peugeot 208 saw the biggest increase in pure electricity sales, up nearly half, while Renault Zoe was the only one on the list with a decline of 40 per cent. Sales of Kia's pure tram Niro rose 13%, and Kia stepped up to expand its share of the European pure electricity market, following the expansion of its parent company Hyundai in the European market.
JATO said, "the excellent performance of Model 3 in the European market is also driven by Tesla's concentrated delivery volume at the end of the quarter. September has always been Tesla's month of strong delivery in Europe, where Tesla has delivered an average of 68 per cent of his third-quarter deliveries since 2018. "
(ACEA), the European automakers association, has previously said that new car registrations in Europe fell 1/4 in September from a year earlier, the lowest in 26 years. The association also said that EU pure electric vehicle sales jumped nearly 57 per cent to more than 212000 in the third quarter, compared with a 35 per cent drop in gasoline vehicle sales and a more than 50 per cent drop in diesel vehicle sales.
"it is encouraging that electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular in the market, but sales of electric vehicles are not enough to offset the sharp decline in car sales in other areas," JATO said. " Winning the monthly sales title of the Model 3 is an important milestone for electric vehicles and means that the auto industry is accelerating the phase-out of internal combustion engines.
Some foreign media believe that no matter how good the performance of Model 3 in Europe is now, it will eventually be surpassed by Model Y, especially after Tesla's German factory is put into production. According to the plan released by Tesla, the super factory in Berlin in Germany and Austin in Texas will produce the first batch of Model Y models by the end of the year. Electric car sales in the United States in the previous August also seem to support this view. The, Model Y sold about 24000 more vehicles than the Model 3.
However, due to delays in production at the Tesla Berlin plant, it may be difficult to achieve mass production by the end of the year, so fourth-quarter electric car sales in Europe are likely to once again depend on Tesla's Shanghai plant.
