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(Reuters) -Tesla sales in Germany dropped in March compared with the same time last year and were marginally lower in the UK, despite a spike in overall EV sales in both markets, data showed on Thursday.
Elon Musk's all-electric brand sold 2,229 cars in Germany and 7,220 in Britain, down respectively 42.5% and 0.6% from March 2024, adding to a slump in European markets that contributed to its lowest quarterly sales in almost three years.
Billionaire CEO Musk, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has stirred controversy by courting far-right parties in Europe, which has deterred potential buyers ahead of the much-anticipated launch of its Model Y mid-size SUV.
Analysts said his rumoured departure from the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency might help Tesla's stock recover some losses, after it dropped around 30% so far this year.
"The longer Musk stays at DOGE, this adds more risk to the Tesla story and could face permanent brand damage," brokerage Wedbush said in a note on Wednesday.
German road traffic agency KBA said the number of Teslas sold in the country between January and March 2025 dropped 62.2% to 4,935 units, compared with the same period last year.
By contrast, the total number of newly registered electric vehicles increased by 38.9% in the quarter, KBA said.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told a news conference on Thursday the brand had suffered.
"The perception is that the passion for Tesla has suffered greatly in recent weeks and months, which is perhaps a good opportunity for the automotive industry in Germany. So unexpectedly, there is also a gap in the market if they bring good, powerful cars to market," Habeck said.
In the UK, Tesla's biggest market in Europe, its quarterly sales rose 3.5% to 12,628, but its share of the EV market dropped by over 4 percentage points to 10.7% as the country reported a record of over 68,000 EV sales in the quarter, data by research group New AutoMotive showed.
(Reporting by Amir Orusov, Friederike Heine and Alessandro ParodiEditing by Ludwig Burger and Barbara Lewis)
