The best-selling car in Europe was an EV for the first time ever in September, as the Tesla Model 3 surpassed the Volkswagen Golf.
The saloon also became the first ever car from a manufacturer based outside of Europe to become the best-seller. A total of 24,600 units were registered in September, equivalent to a 2.6% market share.
Tesla's strong performance in September continues a strong trend for the American firm, as the month on average has accounted for 68% of its third quarter deliveries since 2018.
Electrified vehicle ownership grew 44% to 221,500 units, while the registrations of diesels decreased by 51% to 167,000 units.
“Dealers continue to face issues with the availability of new cars due to the chip shortage,” said automotive data firm Jato Dynamics. “As a result, unwilling to wait more than a year for a new car, many consumers have turned to the used car market.”
Total new car registrations dropped overall by 25%, as total volume decreased to 964,800 units, attributed to the shortage of new cars due to the chip crisis.
“This year, the industry has responded well to the pandemic, but it's now facing new supply chain challenges,” Jato Dynamics said. “The growing popularity of EVs is encouraging, but sales aren't yet strong enough to offset the big declines seen across other segments.”
Tesla’s success this month means the firm now leads the EV market with a share of 24%. The Volkswagen Group has a 22% market share, Stellantis a 13% share and Hyundai-Kia almost 11%.
The Ford Kuga topped the standings for plug-in hybrids once again, with 3385 units sold, followed closely by the BMW 3 Series.
Here are the best-selling cars in Europe in June 2021:
1 Tesla Model 3 24,591, +58%
Join the debate
Add your comment
Tough one for the anti-Tesla brigade
Am I the only one who finds this article hard to understand? There's a whole mix of figures variously ascribed to June 21, July 21, June YTD and July YTD - so it's hard to know what is being referred to. But assuming the top 10 list if for cars sold in June (or is it July?), then a single month figure is pretty much irrelevant for showing a trend, it's the year to date figure that counts.
Also, is the UK included in this data? If so it's hard to understand why Autocar's favorite Fiesta fails even to make the top 10!
Confused? Well I certainly am.