Tesla Model 3 dominates UK EV sales, breaks into Top 10 across all vehicles

The Tesla Model 3 was the best selling electric vehicle in the United Kingdom in June and was also ranked as the ninth most popular car in the region during the month.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed the Tesla Model 3 sold 2,517 total units in the United Kingdom in June. The number of units was enough to give Tesla’s most affordable vehicle the label as the best selling electric car in the UK during the sixth month of the year.

As an industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly harmed automotive sales and registration. Registrations fell 34.9% in June 2020 compared to the same month in 2019, but it was an improvement from the 89% drop in new car registrations that was experienced from May 2020 in comparison to May 2019.

SMMT does state, however, that dealerships in Wales and Scotland remained closed for a majority of June. This fact undoubtedly negatively affected sales figures.

However, the Model 3’s popularity in the UK has been somewhat of a catalyst for the growing EV market in the region.

In 2020 so far, 30,957 battery electric vehicles have been sold in the UK. This is a 158.6% increase compared to 2019’s figures, which saw only 11,975 units sold through the first half of the year, SMMT reported.

Based on vehicle types, only Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), and Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEV) saw increases in sales figures within the first six months of 2020 compared to the same time frame in 2019. BEV’s recorded the most drastic increase with its 158.6% growth in sales.

The increase in electric vehicle demand in Europe is a vital indicator of the growing market for sustainable transportation. Tesla is currently building a new production facility in Brandenburg, Germany, which will supply Europe with around 500,000 vehicles annually when production begins in July 2021.

Tesla’s popularity goes past the UK, however. In China, the electric automaker managed to take 23% of the total EV market, and Model 3 sales rose 35% compared to in June compared to May.

Currently, Tesla produces only the Model 3 in China at its Giga Shanghai facility. However, the company will begin the production of the Model Y crossover when the second phase of the Shanghai production plant is completed later this year.

Deliveries of the Model Y are expected to begin in China in early 2021.

International markets were surely effected in Q2 by the Fremont facility’s closure during the first month of the quarter. However, Tesla rebounded by delivering 90,650 units, according to the company’s Q2 2020 Delivery and Production numbers that were released last week.

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