STORY: Chinese EV maker BYD outsold Tesla in the EU for the second month in a row.
Data showed BYD sold three times as many cars to the bloc in August than in the same month last year.
Stellantis also had buoyant results, returning to sales growth in Europe for the first time in over a year.
That’s as the overall market expanded with a boost from plug-in hybrid and battery-electric sales.
Europe’s battered car industry faces a number of challenges.
This includes U.S. import tariffs and competition from China.
As well as difficulties in meeting domestic regulations for EV adoption in a way that yields profit.
Carmakers have ramped up PHEV sales to comply with emission standards, with more affordable and more profitable cars than pure EVs.
Chinese brands have also used the technology to minimize the impact of EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
As well as to win over China-skeptic European drivers.
And with BYD’s sales up over 200% in August, it took 1.3% of the market.
Whereas EU sales for Elon Musk’s Tesla dropped 36.6%, squeezing its market share to 1.2% from 2% a year ago.
And as total EU car sales rose last month, the registration of hybrid and electric vehicles rose to over 62% in the bloc.