Tesla’s EU sales slump continues as Chinese rivals thrive
Tesla continued a run of weak sales in the EU in November, with new car registrations of Elon Musk’s brand down a third, while Chinese carmakers’ sales soared.Tesla sold 12,130 new cars across the EU last month, down from 18,430 in November 2024, shrinking its market share from 2.1% to 1.4%, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (Acea), a lobby group.The Chinese carmaker BYD recorded by far the fastest sales growth, with registrations across Europe almost tripling year on year up to November, to 42,500.
Chinese state-owned SAIC, the owner of the MG brand, recorded sales increases of 26% to push sales to 217,000.Both brands make battery cars but also hybrids, which combine a smaller battery with a petrol or diesel engine.Hybrid car sales, including plug-ins with the ability to use charge points, accounted for 44% of all sales, amid a push by European carmakers to sell more of the vehicles, which are more profitable for them.The rise in hybrids has coincided with a strong lobbying push by European carmakers to persuade the EU to weaken electric car sales targets.Last week the EU confirmed it would do so, allowing 10% of car sales to have internal combustion engines after 2035.
Despite the intensive lobbying, battery electric cars accounted for 18.8% of the European market, or 2.3m cars, in the first 11 months of the year, up from 15% in the same period last year.That rise in market share came even amid struggles for Tesla, the only pure electric brand among those whose sales are tracked by Acea.Tesla’s sales slowdown started late last year, around the time when Musk, the world’s richest man, started to try to intervene in European politics.
He backed Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland and appeared virtually at campaign events for them and British far-right groups.He also had a prominent alliance with Donald Trump, only to fall out spectacularly with the US president in the summer, in part over the withdrawal of subsidies and supportive regulations for electric cars.Despite the sales slowdown, Musk’s net worth on paper remains far higher than any other person’s.The Bloomberg billionaires index puts his wealth at $647bn (£480bn), with the rocket company SpaceX the largest component of his wealth, followed by a Tesla shareholding worth about $200bn.Tesla’s market value is more than $1.
5tn, more than all the other western carmakers combined, although much of that valuation is thought to stem from investors’ backing for Musk’s vision of robotics and AI rather than the fundamentals of its car business.Overall, EU sales of new cars rose by 1.4% in the year to November compared with last year, a fifth consecutive monthly rise in a row.Sales rose by 1.9% to 12.
1m for the first 11 months of the year when including the European Free Trade Area and the UK.
US economic growth surges to fastest rate in two years; Tesla’s European sales drop again – as it happened
Newsflash: US economic growth accelerated in the third quarter of this year, to the fastest rate in two years.US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualised rate of 4.3% in the July-September period, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, up from 3.8% in April-June.That beats Wall Street forecasts that growth would slow to 3
CDs return to Christmas shopping lists as gen Z embrace ‘retro renaissance’
Forget the vinyl revival. CD players and compact discs are back on Christmas lists this year amid a wave of 90s nostalgia and coveted “deluxe” releases from big acts such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.Demand for compact discs peaked in the mid-00s and many households ditched their systems and libraries as digital music took off. But the distinctive whirr is returning to bedrooms around the country, with retailers and marketplaces experiencing an uptick in appetite for vintage tech and music to play on it.John Lewis has upped its range of CD players to meet resurgent demand and says sales are up 74% in the last year
Chinese robotaxis due in London next year as Lyft and Uber reveal tie-ups
Chinese robotaxis are due to be on the streets of London next year after the US ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber announced tie-ups with Beijing-based Baidu to deploy its self-driving technology.Lyft is the third firm to announce plans to introduce self-driving taxis to the UK capital next year, after Uber and Waymo, the main operator of robotaxis in the US.Its ride-hailing services are the major rival to Uber’s in the US and Canada, and this year Lyft expanded into Europe after acquiring the Freenow app in the summer.While Uber had signed a deal to work with Baidu in the summer in other global markets, it had not until now said that the Chinese tech company’s Apollo Go cars were planned for London. It had previously announced its services would be operated with self-driving technology from the UK-US firm Wayve
MPs question UK Palantir contracts after investigation reveals security concerns
UK MPs have raised concerns about the government’s contracts with Palantir after an investigation published in Switzerland highlighted allegations about the suitability and security of its products.The investigation by the Zurich-based research collective WAV and the Swiss online magazine Republik details Palantir’s efforts, over the course of seven years, to sell its products to Swiss federal agencies.Palantir is a US company that provides software to integrate and analyse data scattered across different systems, such as in the health service. It also provides artificial intelligence-enabled military targeting systems.The investigation cites an expert report, internal to the Swiss army, that assessed Palantir’s status as a US company meant there was a possibility sensitive data shared with it could be accessed by the US government and intelligence services
The Breakdown | Chile coach Pablo Lemoine: ‘Rugby is in trouble, even in countries like Wales’
How did Pablo Lemoine, Chile’s head coach, react when they were drawn with Australia and New Zealand for the 2027 Rugby World Cup? The answer is perceptive and somewhat surprising.“When countries like Chile play in a World Cup, you need a general vision,” he says. “Thinking only of sport it’s fantastic, it’s awesome. But thinking of the real impact Chile needs: development programmes, political impact, social impact … for our fans, it’s much more difficult to find tickets when you play the All Blacks or Australia.”Speaking on Zoom from Chile’s Parque Mahuida training base in Santiago, the 50-year-old sits in front of a whiteboard crammed with densely packed handwritten text, neatly illustrating his attention to detail
A brutal schedule, merciless crowds and always on the road: is professional darts all it’s cracked up to be?
For many of the performers in the 12-month circus, the tour can be soul-destroying and lonely with only the promise of untold wealth to keep them chasing the dream“It’s a lonely place,” Stephen Bunting reflected as he sat quietly in Alexandra Palace on Saturday night, the tears welling in his eyes. “If things don’t go right, you can look at your family, your management, you can look at your sponsors. But it’s down to you. And yeah, I’m getting a bit emotional, but … ”These are stories darts is less keen on telling. Ever since this sport burst out of the smoky pubs and on to our television screens, it has possessed a kind of hedonistic, hyperreal quality, a game in which normal guys slip on their superhero suits and take a shot at unimaginable riches, unimaginable fame
A meat-free Christmas: Chantelle Nicholson’s French mushroom pie, caramelised pear pud and more
10 of the best Australian sparkling wines for every budget
Cosmopolitan Christmas: Stosie Madi’s French-African-Lebanese Christmas lunch – recipes
From a showstopping pavlova to a £7 sherry: what top chefs bring to Christmas dinner
A fresh take on wine pairings for Christmas dessert
How to eat, drink and be merry – while pregnant – at Christmas