Tesla‘s sales in the Netherlands fell 73.8% year over year in April, according to data shared by the country’s automotive association BOVAG this Friday.
The U.S. brand registered 382 vehicles last month, compared to the 1,457 units a year earlier. In March, Tesla had sold 1,536 EVs in the country — sales fell 75% month over month.
The company sold 199 units of its Model 3 sedan, a year on year frop of 50%. The model was upgraded in late 2023 and its current starting price in the Dutch market is €39,990 — equivalent to $45,400.
Model Y sales, which include the recently launched refreshed version but also inventory units from the previous iteration, stood at 179 vehicles. Sales of the SUV shrank 87.7% as the company continues to ramp up production across four gigafactories.
The revamped version of the SUV is now available from €45,990 ($52,200), while several dozen units of the previous version remain in inventory.
The brand also sells its Model S, priced from €110,990 ($126,000), and its Model X, which starts at €115,990 ($131,700). Sales of both models stood at only 2 units each last month in the Netherlands as the company works on an refreshed version planned to be unveiled later this year.
According to Tesla, costumers who buy a “Model Y from limited stock” in the Netherlands get offered “up to 2 years of free Supercharging” and a “€2,950 [$3,350] Tesla bonus.”
In the first quarter, Tesla sold 3,443 vehicles in the Netherlands, down nearly 50% from a year earlier.
Year to date, and on a global scale, Tesla’s sales figures also reflect brand damage stemming from CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement and growing competition.
EV Adoption
From the 27,157 vehicles registered in the Netherlands last month, more than 22,500 were NEVs — which amounts to 83% of the market.
The hybrid models represent nearly half of the market, at 49.1%, while battery electric vehicles (BEV) have a market share of 33.9% in the country.
Fully electric vehicles stood at 9,206 registrations, slightly up 1.5% year over year, while hybrids were 13,329 units, a 6.4% increase.
Competitors
Kia was the best-selling brand in the Netherlands last month, and its EV3 model was the top-selling EV and overall vehicle in the country — with 871 of Kia’s 3,096 registrations. The model was launched a year ago.
Chinese competitors arriving in the European market are steadily growing, with BYD, which leads new energy vehicle (NEV) sales worldwide, selling 268 units in April and 1,028 year to date.
Polestar sold 170 vehicles last month in the Netherlands, bringing year to date figures to 609 units. XPeng registered 105 vehicles, while Leapmotor listed 98 and Zeekr 80.
According to Motor Intelligence, Tesla sales in the U.S. dropped slightly 3% year over year in April to 45,875 units.
Q1 Results
Globally, the Elon Musk-led brand delivered 336,700 EVs in the first three months of the year, a 12.9% drop year over year. Production also dropped 16% as the company transitioned to the refreshed Model Y in the first weeks of the year.
Last week, the company reported the earnings results for the period, with a 15% decline in gross profit (to $3.15 billion) and a 20% drop in automotive revenue (to $13.97 billion) year over year.
On Thursday, a report by the Wall Street Journal stated that Tesla‘s Board “reached out to several executive search firms” to replace Elon Musk and find a new CEO.
Later that day, the company’s Chairwoman Robyn Denholm said that the report was “absolutely false” and that the Board “is highly confident” in Elon Musk. (Read the full statement below.)
“Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.
This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead.
– Robyn Denholm”
