Tesla Sales Are Down 43 Percent In Europe As Elon Musk Scares Off Customers – Jalopnik

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, March 25, 2025, and that is The Morning Shift, your day by day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from around the globe, in a single place. This is the place you will discover crucial tales which might be shaping the way in which Americans drive and get round.

In this morning’s version, we’re testing Tesla’s dismal automobile gross sales in Europe in addition to how a lot Hyundai is prepared to spend to get round U.S. tariffs. We’re additionally going to take a look at what Tesla’s chairperson did not say when she was requested about CEO Elon Musk’s deal with the automaker and Volkswagen’s new partnership for driver help programs.

It’s one other busy day on the planet of automobiles. Let’s all lock in.

Tesla’s market share in Europe continued to shrink in February, as gross sales from the Austin, Texas-based automaker for a second month. That information comes even if general EV registrations have been up 26.1 p.c all through the continent. The firm, led by outspoken CEO Elon Musk, has seen gross sales drop 42.6 p.c in Europe to this point this 12 months. I’m not an skilled, however that is not what you need to see.

Tesla took house 1.8% of the overall new automobile market in Europe in February and 10.3% of the EV market. Both of these are fairly stable numbers, but it surely’s a catastrophe if you examine it to the identical time a 12 months in the past. Back then, Tesla had 2.8% of the overall market and 21.6% of the EV market.

There are two principal causes for this pretty disastrous downturn: a mediocre lineup and a powerful distaste for what Musk stands for today. From Reuters:

Tesla at the moment faces quite a lot of challenges in Europe, forward of the launch of its new Model Y mid-size SUV this month. The EV maker has a smaller, growing old lineup whereas conventional automaker rivals and new Chinese entrants alike proceed to launch new, usually cheaper electrical fashions.

Musk, the corporate’s CEO, has additionally stirred controversy by courting far-right events in Europe, which has added to Tesla’s gross sales droop.

Overall, new automobile gross sales dropped 3.4% in Europe in February, however BEV gross sales have been up 23.7%, and hybrid gross sales rose 19%. BEVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids accounted for 58.4% of the EU’s automobile gross sales in February — a ten.2% improve over the identical time final 12 months.

Hyundai says it’s going to spend $6 billion to arrange a metal mill in Louisiana that’ll be able to producing 2.7 million tons of metal every year. Those are each some very large numbers. The plant, which Hyundai Steel will function, is about to produce automobiles and components to crops within the U.S. It’s a part of a wider $21 billion funding plan the corporate plans to see by way of over the following 4 years, in an effort to broaden annual manufacturing capability to 1.2 million automobiles. Currently, it has the capability for about 1 million automobiles.

The Korean automaker additionally plans to put money into vitality infrastructure creation and accomplice with U.S. corporations like Nvidia and Waymo on expertise improvement. President Trump made the announcement on March 24 on the White House surrounded by Hyundai executives. From Automotive News:

Trump confirmed that Hyundai Motor Group — mother or father to Hyundai, Genesis and Kia — wouldn’t be required to pay tariffs because of the enlargement. He stated the funding was a “clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work.”

[Executive Chairman] Euisun Chung referred to as the $6 billion funding within the Hyundai Steel mill a “key part of this commitment” and stated the Louisiana facility would create 1,300 jobs.

There’s a free-trade settlement in place between the U.S. and South Korea proper now, however Trump signaled that he was going to impose reciprocal tariffs on international locations that tax items made within the U.S.

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm dodged questions relating to CEO Elon Musk’s must spend extra time at his automobile firm, as its gross sales and share costs proceed to dip. Musk, after all, has been busy taking a pickaxe to the federal authorities when he is not busy sending alt-right conspiracy tweets. From Bloomberg:

Denholm, who spoke at a monetary companies convention in Melbourne on Tuesday, stated nothing when requested if she was involved about Musk’s obvious right-wing allegiances, or his opposition to range and inclusion initiatives. Asked if she had a message for Tesla shareholders, she did not reply. A girl accompanying Denholm as she entered the convention venue stated they would not remark or reply to any questions.

Musk’s extraordinarily hands-on function within the federal authorities is fueling considerations that he is deeply overstretched and does not have sufficient time to handle Tesla. Hell, that was a priority of us had earlier than he was just about working the federal authorities. In an interview with Fox Business earlier this month, Musk apparently stated he was having “great difficulty” working his different companies whereas being accountable for DOGE. 

Denholm’s skill to affect or management Musk has been debated for fairly some time now, in line with Bloomberg. The Australian government does not actually discuss her function at Tesla in public, and she or he virtually by no means solutions particular questions concerning the firm or how she oversees the CEO. 

A choose within the U.S. dominated in 2024 that she lacked independence on the board as a result of she owed most of her wealth to her service as a director at Tesla. In 2021 and 2022 she made $280 million by exercising Tesla choices. Yeah, I’d say which may cloud her independence on the firm.

Volkswagen is about to begin working with Valeo and Mobileye to boost its driver help programs in upcoming gas-powered automobiles on its MQB platform. Don’t count on any wild hands-free driving tech to return out of the partnership, although. The cooperation is predicted to high out with superior Level 2 capabilities.

The trio of corporations are referring to the upcoming tech as “Level 2 Plus,” which is a time period Mobileye conjured up in 2018 for L2 programs with automobiles which have a greater understanding of their path forward. The ADAS system in these VWs shall be primarily based on a 360-degree ring of digicam and radar sensors on the automobile. From Automotive News:

In addition to hands-free driving on highways, options will embrace low-speed visitors jam piloting, parking help, driver alertness monitoring and, sooner or later, augmented-reality shows, the businesses stated.

Valeo will present digital management items, sensors and software program for parking purposes, whereas Mobileye will contribute its Surround ADAS platform, together with processors and mapping expertise. That platform replaces a number of ECUs with a central pc, permitting over-the-air updates, the businesses stated.

Right now, it is not completely clear what MQB fashions the system could be out there on, but when it may be put into MQB, which means we’ll see it in gasoline automobiles in addition to mild- and plug-in hybrids. 

These days, David Byrne is a motorbike activist, however that does not imply he lacks good style in automobiles. The Talking Heads frontman as soon as owned a Citroen which he drove in LA, in line with KCRW.