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Tesla sales rise around 2.4% in France in October

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Drop in Norway after rising for several months

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Tesla outsold by Chinese brands in Denmark and Spain

By Nick Carey

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Tesla's sales plunged

in October in a number of European countries including Spain,

the Netherlands and Nordic markets in the latest sign that the

U.S. electric vehicle maker's struggles on the continent

continue.

Tesla had seen sales rise in a number of European markets in

September, after falling for most of this year due to increasing

competition to its ageing lineup from newer EV models.

The automaker's new car registrations - a proxy for sales -

dropped 89% in Sweden, 86% in Denmark, 50% in Norway and 48% in

the Netherlands, local industry data showed. Its sales in Spain

were down 31% in October, while industry-wide sales of

fully-electric and plug-in hybrid models jumped 119%.

In France, however, Tesla posted a small gain in sales for a

second consecutive month.

STILL DOMINANT IN NORWAY

The drop in Norway came after several months of growth in a

market where almost all new cars sold were EVs and Tesla has

remained the country's largest automaker.

Tesla's sales have fallen in Europe this year because it has

a small, ageing lineup of models at a time when legacy

manufacturers and Chinese rivals are releasing new EV models at

a rapid clip. Through September Tesla's sales were down 28.5% in

Europe versus the first nine months of 2024.

The company has also faced a backlash from some European

consumers against CEO Elon Musk, who helped bankroll Donald

Trump's U.S. presidential election victory last year and has

championed European far-right parties.

"Car buyers have more choice than ever, with an influx of

new EVs from established manufacturers and ambitious newcomers

from China," said Ginny Buckley, CEO of electric-car buying and

advice site Electrifying.com.

"Tesla no longer has the market to itself and that seems to

be showing in its sales figures in Europe."

CHINESE EVS OUTSELLING TESLA

In Denmark, Tesla was outsold by several Chinese EV brands,

including BYD, Xpeng ( XPEV ) and Geely's

Zeekr. In Spain, its October sales of 393 cars were

dwarfed by those of SAIC's MG brand (3,725 cars) BYD

(2,806 cars) and Chery's Omoda and Jaecoo brands -

which sold 1,433 and 974 cars respectively.

Tesla sold just 133 vehicles in Sweden, lagging not just

mainstream brands but also luxury German automaker Porsche

, which sold 172 cars. Through October, Tesla's sales

in Sweden are down 67% versus the same period last year.

Ciara Cook, research manager at research firm New AutoMotive

said registrations for mainstream brands such as Fiat, Volvo

, Suzuki and Mazda ( MZDAF ) were down 15 to

18% in the year through to September in the European Union "as

they work to update their vehicle offerings to match consumer

demand".

But Tesla's sales in the EU were down nearly 39% during the same

period.

"The Musk factor looks like it is contributing the difference,"

Cook said.