Tesla Model Y was Europe’s best-selling car in the first half of 2023
The Tesla Model Y isn’t just climbing the Australian sales charts – it’s now the best-selling vehicle in Europe so far this year, beating well-known petrol-powered hatchbacks that cost less than a third of its price.
The Tesla Model Y has become the first electric-car to top Europe’s new-car sales charts for the first six months of a year, dethroning one of the least-expensive and best-selling petrol hatchbacks to take the lead.
Automotive News Europe – citing new-car sales information from Dataforce – reports Tesla sold 125,144 examples of the Model Y in Europe (and the UK) January through June 2023, beating the second best-selling model, the Dacia Sandero, by approximately 7000 sales.
The Tesla sales tally in the first six months of this year is almost as high as the number of Model Y vehicles reported as sold over 12 months last year.
Incredibly, price appears to be no barrier to the Tesla’s sales success. The Dacia Sandero – which is based on the same platform as the Nissan Juke and Mitsubishi ASX – is priced from €11,990 ($AU19,700) plus on-road costs in France, while the Tesla Model Y starts from €45,990 ($AU75,600) plus on-road costs.
Compared to the same period last year, Tesla recorded a 211 per cent sales increase for the Model Y in Europe – with the 40,147 examples sold from January to June 2022 eclipsed by its March 2023 sales alone (46,282 examples).
Throughout the 12 months of 2022, Tesla sold 138,128 Model Ys in Europe, placing it 13th overall – a significant improvement on its 130th placing in 2021 when approximately 26,700 examples were sold.
The Tesla Model Y’s rise to the top comes less than a year after it recorded its first month as the best-selling new car in Europe, when it beat the popular Volkswagen Golf in its own backyard in September 2022.
The Volkswagen T-Roc continued to carry on its 2022 sales trajectory to start 2023, slotting into third place with 107,249 examples sold (up 30 per cent) – behind the Dacia Sandero and ahead of the Opel Corsa (102,082 examples sold, up 18 per cent).
Last year’s European new-car sales leader – the Peugeot 208 – is one of just two models in the top 10 which has experienced a sales drop compared to the first six months of 2022, now sitting fifth with 101,151 examples sold (down 5.1 per cent).
The only other top 10-seller to lose sales in Europe compared to last year is the Volkswagen Golf – the German hatchback which, until 2022, was the region’s best-selling car for 14 consecutive years.
Throughout the first half of 2023, Volkswagen has reported 85,730 Golfs as sold in Europe – a 1.3 decrease on the same period in 2022, and now sitting behind its high-riding Tiguan sibling (88,020 examples sold).
In Australia, the Tesla Model Y is the third best-selling car so far this year, with the 14,002 examples sold trailing the popular Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger utes – of which 28,093 and 26,741 have been sold, respectively.
2023 European new-car sales (January to June inclusive)
| Model | Sales | Sales increase/decrease vs 2022 |
| Tesla Model Y | 125,144 | Up 211.7 per cent |
| Dacia Sandero | 118,883 | Up 25.9 per cent |
| Volkswagen T-Roc | 107,249 | Up 30.2 per cent |
| Opel Corsa | 102,082 | Up 18.1 per cent |
| Peugeot 208 | 101,151 | Down 5.1 per cent |
| Renault Clio | 96,135 | Up 43.3 per cent |
| Toyota Yaris Cross | 90,135 | Up 48.4 per cent |
| Volkswagen Tiguan | 88,020 | Up 46.1 per cent |
| Volkswagen Golf | 85,730 | Down 1.3 per cent |
| Dacia Duster | 82,813 | Up 19.5 per cent |
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