Tesla and XPeng both introduced 0% financing offers for up to eight years in Denmark on the same day, escalating the competitive battle in one of the world’s most electrified car markets.
The Guangzhou-headquartered brand XPeng — which began producing hybrid vehicles in China after a decade dedicated to pure EV models — is Denmark’s top-selling Chinese EV brand.
The offers apply to selected Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Tesla‘s case, and to the G6 SUV for XPeng, according to promotional material published on both companies’ Danish websites.
A Buyer’s Market
Fully electric vehicles have accounted for more than 80% of all new passenger car registrations in each of the first three months of 2026, according to data from Mobility Denmark and bilstatistik.dk.
Among private buyers, the concentration has been even higher — reaching 94.4% in February, the latest month for which a detailed breakdown has been published as of Thursday morning.
With list prices increasingly difficult to reduce further — constrained by input costs, tariff exposure, and brand positioning — the battlefield has moved to financing terms.
The Federation of Danish Motorists (FDM) consumer economist Ilyas Dogru wrote on LinkedIn that XPeng‘s 0% offer translates to savings of approximately 29,000 Danish kroner ($4,475) compared to a competitive bank loan, while Tesla‘s equivalent saves buyers roughly 38,500 kroner ($5,941) over the full term.
Tough 2025
Tesla‘s vehicle registrations fell 41% year over year, dropping it from second to eighth place among all brands in the country.
The company’s continent-wide registrations fell roughly 28% in 2025 as the company contended with an ageing lineup, intensifying Chinese competition, and reputational headwinds linked to Chief Executive Elon Musk’s political activities.
The first quarter of 2026 has brought signs of a rebound.
In March, Tesla registered 1,447 vehicles in Denmark — a 144% year-over-year increase — bringing the quarterly total to 2,324 units, a 50% jump from the same period a year ago, according to data from bilstatistik.
The recovery has been driven in part by the rollout of more affordable Standard trims for both the Model Y and Model 3, which lowered entry-level pricing by approximately $5,000 in the United States and by comparable amounts in European markets.
XPeng’s Steady Build
XPeng, meanwhile, has been building its Danish presence steadily since entering the market in April 2022 with its first showroom in central Copenhagen.
The Guangzhou-based automaker registered 3,908 vehicles in Denmark across 2025 — enough to earn the title of leading Chinese brand in the country.
In the first two months of 2026, XPeng registered 253 vehicles in January and 300 in February. In February, the G6 ranked among the top ten best-selling models in the country alongside the Tesla Model Y and Toyota bZ4X, according to data from Mobility Denmark.
According to bilstatistik, the company founded and led by He Xiaopeng registered 407 vehicles in March alone — including 306 G9 large SUVs.
Denmark’s Dynamics
The country’s registration tax — among the highest in the world — means that a conventional petrol car with a net price of roughly $42,500 can end up costing the buyer close to $100,000 after tax and VAT.
Fully electric vehicles benefit from a significantly reduced rate, creating a structural incentive that has pushed adoption well beyond the European average.
The Federation of Danish Motorists announced in January that the number of registered electric vehicles in the country had surpassed that of diesel cars on Danish roads, a milestone driven by what Dogru described as “lower prices, policy certainty, and a fast-growing charging network.”
Financing
For Tesla, the move is part of a broader European pattern.
The company also offered 0% APR on purchases in Sweden through the end of March, alongside a SEK 40,000 ($4,500) bonus for eligible customers.
In several European markets, Tesla has been layering financing incentives on top of its refreshed lineup to accelerate the recovery from its difficult 2025.
XPeng began assembling two of its models with contract manufacturer Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, last September — a move that allows it to sidestep the European Commission’s import tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
Earlier this year, it expanded the contract with Magna to include a third model: the P7 sedan.
European-assembled XPeng vehicles carry a much lower tariff burden as imported EVs from China faced a extra duty since October 2024 after the investigation from the European Commission.
Tesla in Scandinavia
As EV reported on Wednesday, Tesla’s first-quarter registrations surged across all three Scandinavian markets.
In Norway, where the company remains the best-selling brand with a 34.8% market share in March, quarterly deliveries nearly doubled year over year to 7,443 vehicles.
In Sweden, the quarterly total reached 2,849 units — a 33.3% increase — despite a union blockade that has lasted over two years.
In Denmark, the 2,324 first-quarter registrations marked a 50% jump from the same period a year ago, with March alone accounting for 1,447 of those units.
Tesla offered subsidised financing in both Norway and Sweden through March 31 — including 0% APR on premium Model Y variants in Norway and on all Model Y and Model 3 purchases in Sweden — alongside cash bonuses of NOK 50,000 ($5,200) and SEK 40,000 ($4,500), respectively.
The Danish 0% financing campaign, launched on April 1 alongside XPeng’s matching offer, extends that approach into the second quarter.
