- Tesla regains momentum after two years of sales decline
- China and Europe both see an increase in Tesla sales
- Tesla shares still fluctuated, despite the positive news
Tesla’s second-quarter sales results have far exceeded market expectations, with growth in both Europe and China helping to drive a 25% rise compared to the same period last year.
According to The Financial Times, the electric vehicle pioneer delivered 480,126 vehicles in the three months to the end of June, up from 384,122 in the same period last year and well above analysts’ forecasts of 404,000.
Despite shifting its focus to artificial intelligence and robotics in recent years, as well as trimming its model line-up down to just two cars, Tesla has seen huge growth in Europe, aided in part by government EV incentives.
The Guardian reports that the rising cost of fuel and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles on corporate fleets could have also played an important role in boosting sales, while the consumer backlash to CEO Elon Musk’s political statements last year could also have eased.
Despite the vast improvement in sales, BYD once again surpassed Tesla to regain its position as the world’s largest battery-electric vehicle manufacturer.
BYD sold roughly 867,000 electric vehicles in the first six months of the year, compared with 838,149 vehicles for Tesla, according to The Financial Times.
“Tesla has not surprised to the upside to this degree in a while, a healthy sign the auto business is here to stay,” William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer told the paper.
Analysis: Demand for EVs booms in Europe
Despite the CEO’s questionable political decisions and the company’s reputation for over-promising and often under-delivering, it is still difficult to argue that Tesla’s current crop of electric vehicles is anything short of excellent.
The company’s charging network remains one of the best, even if charging speeds are now being eclipsed by numerous Charge Point Operators, while its latest Model 3 and Model Y are the most comfortable, tech-focussed and luxurious they have ever been.
Thanks to increased competition from both up-and-coming Chinese EV companies and legacy automakers, Tesla has been forced to get competitive with its pricing, offering enticing monthly deals on the Model 3 and Model Y.
It has also recently started to roll-out its Supervised Full Self-Driving system in select European countries for the first time, another factor that could help improve sales further.
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