The Tesla Model Y has taken the Dacia Sandero’s spot at the top of European sales charts. According to Automotive News Europe, it’s the first time a battery-electric vehicle has topped the sales chart halfway through the year. Besides the Sandero, the Model Y also beat out vehicles like the Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen T-Roc.
Data reported by Auto News Europe shows that 29,764 Model Ys were registered in the EU, the UK, and other European Free Trade Association countries. That represents a 104 per cent increase from the same time last year. It also brings the total number of Model Ys sold in these counties in 2023 to 125,144 halfway through the year. That is an increase of 211.7 per cent from just one year ago. The increase came on fast, too. Back in January of this year, the Model Y was just the 17th best-selling vehicle in Europe. A wild come up.
Other car sales are also growing, but not nearly on the same level. The outlet reports that Romania’s Dacia was able to sell 118,883 Sanderos (a 25.9 per cent increase) and Volkswagen sold 107,249 T-Rocs (a 30 per cent increase). Those vehicles were followed by Vauxhall Corsas with 102,082 units sold and the Peugeot 208 with 101,151 units sold.
Auto News Europe reports that this sales surge from Tesla comes on the heels of the Austin, Texas-based company slashing prices for the Model Y and Model 3. In the UK, Model Y prices were cut £8,000 in January. Those discounts apparently took place in the country in an effort to get sales going after supply outpaced demand by 34,000 vehicles in the last quarter of 2022.