Volkswagen Has Sold More EVs Than Tesla in Europe

Volkswagen has shifted more EVs than Tesla in Europe in the first half of 2025, with the group's global EV sales rising by 47%.

Tesla’s rapid downfall in Europe continues, as the American EV marque is now being overtaken by VW Group. In the first half of 2025 alone, the German automotive giant shipped up to 347,900 EVs in the Old Continent, surpassing Tesla by a wide margin.

According to CarScoops, who quoted Dataforce’s numbers, Tesla’s EV sales in Europe dramatically plummeted this year, as it had only sold 76,400 units in Europe between Jan and the end of May. During the same period, the main Volkswagen brand alone shifted 192,600 EVs in the Old Continent, leaving Tesla by a healthy margin of more than 100,000 units.

This sales decline in Europe also resonates with Tesla's poor global performance, which has dropped by 14% to 384,000 units in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year.

Back to VW Group, the surge of its EV sales in Europe helps the group to boost its global EV sales by a whopping 47%, totaling up to 465,000 units, or 464,200 if you discount out the commercial trucks. Europe sales alone rose by 89% compared to last year, jumping from 184,100 units in 1H 2024 to 347,900 so far this year.

While the VW main brand leads the group's overall EV sales, Audi leads the premium segment of the group's entire portfolio.

Going brand-to-brand, we’ve mentioned that the main VW brand alone has shifted 192,600 EVs, which makes it the best performer in the group’s entire portfolio. As for their more premium brands, Audi has shipped a total of 101,400 EVs so far this year, outpacing other core brands like Skoda and Seat/Cupra.

Meanwhile, Porsche has experienced a dramatic spike in its global EV sales, as it shifted 34,200 EVs in 1H 2025—an astounding 279% increase over the same period last year.

According to the German publication Handelsblatt, part of VW Group’s sales success in Europe is due to extensive discount campaigns. While they helped in boosting the group’s sales figures, this exercise could put extra pressure on its bottom line, albeit one senior VW exec said that the company is still making money on its EVs with an operating margin of less than 6.5%.

More importantly, delivering more EVs would be important to revive VW Group’s image, which was previously tarnished by the Dieselgate scandal. Not to forget, the stricter EU emission regulations also prompted the group to ramp up its EV production.

Source: CarScoops, Handelsblatt