Tesla sales keeps dropping in the U.K. and Germany. BYD is swooping in

Battery electric vehicle sales for July actually grew in Germany and the U.K. as BYD sales skyrocketed in both countries, but Tesla $TSLA continued its downward slide.

In July, Tesla sold 1,110 cars in Germany, marking a 55.1% decline compared to a year ago. BYD, on the other hand, sold 1,126 cars, showing a 389.6% increase, according to data published Tuesday from KBA. 

So far in 2025, Tesla has sold 10,000 cars in Germany.

In the U.K., Tesla sold 987 cars in July compared to 2,462 cars sold a year prior, showing a 59.9% decline, while BYD sold 3,184 compared to just 768 a year ago, showing a whopping 314.58% increase, according to data from SMMT published Tuesday. 

Year to date, Tesla has sold 23,708 in the U.K. compared to 25,491 for the same time period in 2024, which is nearly a 7% decline. This single-digit number might not seem so bad, but BYD’s sales looked a lot more impressive. BYD has sold 22,574 so far in 2025 compared to just 3,672 last year for the same time period — marking a greater than 500% increase in sales. 

BYD’s rise over Tesla isn’t just in the U.K. and Germany. Earlier this year, data from JATO Dynamics showed that the Chinese EV maker had surpassed Tesla sales in Europe. 

Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at the firm, said at the time that even though BYD’s and Tesla’s numbers were close, the implications were still “enormous.”

“This is a watershed moment for Europe’s car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022,” he noted.

— Kevin Williams contributed to this article.