Tesla’s Model 3 has taken Europe by storm, becoming the continent’s first electric car to surpass monthly sales of new vehicles. To claim the top spot, it unseated stalwarts like the Renault Clio and Volkswagen Golf.
Tesla has a commanding lead in the electric car market, with sales data shared by research firm Jato Dynamics and first reported by Bloomberg News showing that Tesla sold 24,591 Model 3s in September compared to 18,264 for the Renault Clio in second place. This is also the first time that a vehicle from outside of Europe has been a monthly best-seller in Europe.
The sales figures suggest that the automobile industry is gradually but steadily moving away from combustion engines to electric motors. This is made easier by various government incentives to reduce the price of EVs and hybrid vehicles. According to Bloomberg, electric and hybrid vehicle sales accounted for 23% of total new sales in September – almost double the proportion of the market in 2020.
Sales of new automobiles, on the other hand, have been declining in general due to the worldwide chip scarcity, with EU sales dropping 25% year-on-year and total sales in September 2021 964,800 vehicles. “Dealers continue to face issues with the availability of new cars due to the chip shortage,” Jato analyst Felipe Munoz told AM Online. “As a result, unwilling to wait more than a year for a new car, many consumers have turned to the used car market.”
Tesla loves September
Tesla has a history of strong performance in September when the company typically pushes sales hard for the end of the quarter. The success of the Model 3 and Model Y gave it a leading 24 percent market share in electric vehicle sales this year, according to AM Online, ahead of rivals Volkswagen with 22 percent and Stellantis with 13%.
The computer hardware is now in place, but Tesla’s software side isn’t without hiccups. After drivers complained about flaws including false collision alarms, the company had to withdraw its most recent self-driving beta. However, according to an early-morning tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the most recent beta may have been restored with those issues fixed.
10.3.1 rolling out now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2021
