8:20 am, April 24, 2025
March was the second-best month for EV registrations on record in Europe with Tesla leading the way, despite the Elon Musk-owned firm continuing to see a fall in volumes.
Latest figures from JATO Dynamics shows that 1,423,340 cars were registered last month, up 3.2% year on year. The strong March result helped offset declines in January and February, helping Q1 2025 to draw level with the same quarter last year.
The UK was the main driver of the sales increase in March. It was the largest market with volumes up by 13%; Italy and Spain also recorded rises, while Germany and France saw drops of 3.9% and 15% respectively.
Over 240,000 battery electric vehicles (BEV) were registered in March, making the month the second highest on record for EVs.
Tesla led the way in the best-selling BEV brands chart for March with 27,828 cars registered, with Volkswagen following in second (25,544) and BMW in third with 19,307 cars.
The American carmaker also finished in second place in the best-selling brands chart for Q1 with 53,237 cars, behind Volkswagen’s 65,679 (+157% on Q1 24) and ahead of BMW’s 46,557 (+21%).
These performances from Tesla were in spite of the brand seeing falls of 30% and 38% in March and Q1 respectively. March’s performance was better than January’s and February’s, which were down by 47% and 44% respectively.
Overall, the best-selling car in Europe last month was the Peugeot 208, taking over from the Dacia Sandero, although the Sandero is Q1’s leader.
Felix Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: ‘March was a momentous month for BEV registrations in Europe, indicating that the positive response we are seeing to the continually broadening offering is finally having a real impact on the overall market.’
On the subject of Tesla, Munoz commented: ‘Despite the controversy surrounding the brand’s CEO and the limited availability of the new Model Y, Tesla continues to perform well as the most popular EV brand in Europe. Its success, amid these challenges, provides an indication of what European consumers are looking for in an EV.’
