Tesla March registrations jump across key European markets
Registrations rebound across Europe
Tesla's new car registrations jumped across several key European markets in March, signaling a recovery in the company's regional sales after a difficult 2025.
In France, registrations nearly tripled to 9,569 vehicles, up 203% from a year earlier and just below the record high of 9,572 reached in December 2023, according to French car body PFA. Overall monthly car sales in France rose for the first time since October.
Registrations also rose sharply in Nordic markets. In Norway, Tesla registrations climbed 178% to 6,150 vehicles, while Sweden rose 144% to 1,447 and Denmark increased 96% to 1,784, according to national industry data.
Recovery follows weak 2025
Tesla lost almost half its European market share in 2025 amid intensifying competition, especially from Chinese brands, a lack of new models and backlash tied to CEO Elon Musk's political stance.
Since late last year, however, Tesla has begun rolling out cheaper versions of its Model Y and Model 3 in the United States and Europe. That helped reverse the trend, with European registrations returning to growth in February and accelerating further in March.
Tesla said in a letter to British media last month that registrations are often skewed toward the end of each quarter because of the way vehicles are shipped.
Gains spread beyond France and the Nordics
March registrations rose in several other markets as well:
- Belgium: up 89% to 1,806 vehicles
- Netherlands: up 72% to 1,819
- Italy: up 32% to 2,920
- Spain: up 25% to 2,477
- Switzerland: up 1.7% to 674
- Portugal: down 1.7% to 1,189
For the first quarter, Tesla registrations increased 108% in France, 95% in Norway, 48% in Sweden, 50% in Denmark, 43% in Spain, 32% in Italy, 27% in Portugal and 23% in Belgium. They fell 23% in the Netherlands and 21% in Switzerland.
Britain and Germany, Europe's largest car markets, were due to report March registration figures later in the week.
Fuel prices seen as longer-term support
In the longer term, Tesla and other electric-vehicle makers could benefit from rising petrol prices linked to the Iran war, according to Flavien Neuvy, economist and director of the automotive observatory at BNP Paribas unit Cetelem.
Neuvy said the impact on March registrations was still marginal because higher fuel prices affect order books more gradually, with the effects likely to become clearer in coming months.
Olivier Mornet, CEO of Renault's Dacia France, told Reuters it was still difficult to judge the war's impact on orders, but inquiries for electric and LPG cars at dealerships and on the company's websites had jumped.