Gasgoo Munich-Tesla's new-car registrations surged across several European markets in October, extending an earlier recovery. Yet the rebound has been far from uniform — and it's unfolding alongside a steady expansion of Chinese brands' market share.
Image credit: Tesla
Tesla's registrations in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark jumped 248%, 131%, and 34% year on year, respectively, according to data from Mobility Sweden, Norway's OFV, and Denmark's bilstatistik.dk.
Further south, the growth was even steeper. Data from Spain's ANFAC, Portugal's ACAP, and Italy's transport ministry shows Tesla's registrations climbing 271% in Spain, 186% in Portugal, and 94% in Italy.
The rebound is driven by a mix of factors: a weak comparison base from last year, rising fuel prices, government incentives, and sustained EV demand. Even so, the pace of recovery varies sharply by country. And as Chinese brands push deeper into the region, Europe's EV landscape is growing more crowded.
Tesla remains one of Europe's leading EV brands, but its heavy reliance on the Model 3 and Model Y is leaving it exposed to rivals with broader lineups.
The company noted in October that its passenger-car order backlog had hit a four-year high at the close of the third quarter.
Norway continues to stand out as Tesla's strongest European foothold. The brand posted its best month on record there in October, capturing a 9.8% share to become the country's top-selling automaker, according to the OFV.
Chinese brands are also making their presence felt. They accounted for a record 22.5% of new passenger-car registrations in Norway last month.
Norwegian consumers generally have higher purchasing power than their European peers, leaving less room for budget-friendly Chinese models, noted Rico Luman, a senior economist at ING Research.
Denmark tells a different story. Tesla's share stood at just 0.73%, trailing BYD, Leapmotor, XPENG, and SAIC's MG — each of which held between 1.6% and 5.5% of the market.
Felipe Munoz, an auto analyst who runs Car Industry Analysis, told Reuters that Nordic markets are unusually open to newcomers — offering a foothold to any brand that can deliver a capable EV. That same openness helped Tesla build its early lead, he noted, and is now accelerating the advance of Chinese competitors.
