March 24 (Reuters) - Tesla EV sales in Europe

have fallen in February behind legacy brand Volkswagen

and the BMW group, as well as rivals from China, data

by research platform JATO Dynamics showed on Monday.

Elon Musk's all-electric brand is facing a loyalty test in

Europe after the close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump

openly supported far-right parties in the continent, including

with at least two dozen posts on his X platform promoting

Germany's Alternative fur Deutschland.

Musk's role in politics, rising competition in the EV market

and the phasing out of the existing version of its best-selling

vehicle, the Model Y, have all impacted sales, Felipe Munoz,

Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a report.

"Brands like Tesla, which have a relatively limited model

lineup, are particularly vulnerable to registration declines

when undertaking a model changeover," Munoz said.

Tesla's battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in 25

European Union markets, the UK, Norway and Switzerland fell on

average by 44% from the same month of 2024, to under 16,000 cars

sold in February. Its market share in the month fell to 9.6%,

the lowest February reading in the last five years.

By comparison, Volkswagen's BEV sales were up 180% to under

20,000 cars, while the BMW brand and BMW-owned Mini, combined,

sold almost 19,000 BEVs in February, the data showed.

Chinese-owned brands, combined, also sold more electric cars

than Tesla, JATO Dynamics said.

BYD's and Polestar's BEV sales in the same

markets were up respectively 94% and 84% to over 4,000 and over

2,000 cars. Xpeng ( XPEV ) sold over 1,000 cars and Leapmotor almost 900.

BEV sales at Geely -owned Volvo and SAIC-owned

MG, instead, dropped by 30% and 67% respectively, the data

showed.

Total car sales in 25 European Union markets, the UK, Norway

and Switzerland dropped by 3% to 0.97 million in February, while

BEV registrations were up by 25%.