BMW closes gap to Tesla in European EV sales in July

BMW brand nearly dethroned Tesla as Europe’s top seller of battery-electric vehicles in July, finishing the month just 629 sales behind Tesla, the longtime EV champion, according to figures from Dataforce.

Behind strong results for the iX1 compact SUV and i4 midsize sedan, BMW’s EV sales were up 34 percent in July to 14,687, compared to the same month in 2023. At the same time, Tesla sales -- all EVs -- fell 16 percent to 15,216.

The figures represent a stark reversal from July 2023, when Tesla sold 18,025 EVs and BMW sold 10,988. Volkswagen, which was in second in July 2023 with 17,767 sales, fell to third place with 12,177 sales.

Tesla’s monthly sales tend to surge at the end of each quarter. In June, the last month of the second quarter, Tesla sold 40,751 cars in Europe, according to Dataforce. BMW sold 14,835 EVs for the month.

BMW was even closer to Tesla in April, the first month of the second quarter. Tesla sold 14,668 cars that month, while BMW sold 14,070, a difference of 598 sales.

Dataforce’s figures for July do not include Slovakia. Overall EV sales were down by 6.7 percent as the market continues its slowdown this year following cuts to EV incentives, notably in Germany, and consumer skepticism.

Among the top 10 EV brands in July, fourth-place Volvo had the biggest jump by percentage behind the new EX30 small SUV. Sales were up 265 percent to 10,953 in July. VW was the biggest loser, with sales down by 31 percent, falling from second to third.

Dataforce's numbers include the European Union countries, the U.K. and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) markets of Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. The data does not include Slovakia, which has not yet reported registrations.

Another data provider, JATO Dynamics, on Aug. 22 reported that BMW had narrowly passed Tesla for EV sales for the month, but JATO's figures include just 28 countries rather than the 30 included in Dataforce's figures.