This is the first time a Tesla or any EV has been Europe’s best seller over a six-month period
by Chris Chilton
July 19, 2023 at 11:34
Elon Musk says it’s all about volume at Tesla these days, and in light of those comments the automaker’s CEO must be delighted with the latest sales figures out of Europe. They show that the company’s Model Y topped the region’s new-car sales chart for June, and for the first six months of 2023.
The Model Y saw off challenges from Dacia’s no-frills Sandero hatch and the Volkswagen T-Roc crossover to take the top spot in June, but it’s the half-year news that’s the most significant. Tesla’s SUV found 125,144 buyers between January and June, up 211.7 percent from the 40,147 recorded during the same period last year. The numbers could in fact be higher because the data only covers 94 percent of sales in the European Union, ETFA countries and the UK, Auto News reports.
Related: Tesla Model Y Becomes World’s 3rd Best-Selling Car Challenging Toyota’s Reign
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Second place in the half-year table went to Dacia, whose Sandero sales climbed 25.9 percent to 118,883, while the third-placed T-Roc registered 107,249 units, an increase of 30.2 percent over its 2022 first-half performance. The Opel Corsa notched up 102,082 sales to take fourth spot, an impressive 18.1 percent improvement considering the facelifted car had yet to land in showrooms, while Peugeot’s 208, which was also due a facelift at the time, fared less well, sales falling by 5.1 percent to 101,151.
Meanwhile, the Volkswagen Golf, which ruled the European sales charts for years, is languishing in ninth place in both the June and half-year tables. Ford’s Fiesta, another one-time favorite that was axed after 47 years this summer, experienced a sales revival during the first six months of 2023, finding 40,195 homes, an increase of 28.6 percent. But that was still only enough to put it in 48th place, one rung above the BMW 3-Series (39,605 sales; down 5.4 percent) and the Tesla Model 3 (38,843; up 2.7 percent). The bright spot for the Model 3 is that the June figures show its sales increased by 114.6 percent that month, a rate that not even the Model Y (on 104.5 percent) could match.
