Tesla Model Y Reclaims Europe’s Top Spot Despite Sales Drop As BYD Seal U Explodes 833%

Tesla’s Model Y returned to the top of Europe’s sales charts in September 2025, ending a nine-month drought that saw the electric SUV plummet as low as 60th place just two months earlier. But the victory comes with a catch: Model Y sales fell 8.6% year-over-year to 25,938 units, according to data from Automotive News Europe. Meanwhile, Chinese competitor BYD notched a stunning 833% surge with its Seal U compact SUV, signaling that the real European EV story isn’t Tesla’s comeback—it’s China’s accelerating dominance.

The September results mark Tesla’s first monthly sales victory in 2025, following a turbulent year that saw the Model Y collapse from consistent top-three finishes to 60th place in July. Renault Clio took second with 20,146 units, down 1.6%, while Dacia Sandero rounded out the top three with 19,200 units, up 3.2%.

BYD Seal U Posts Historic Growth While Tesla Struggles

While Tesla celebrated its return to the top spot, BYD’s Seal U compact SUV delivered the month’s most striking performance. The Chinese EV jumped from 187th place in September 2024 to 22nd place this year, selling 11,491 units compared to just 1,231 a year ago—an 833.5% increase that dwarfs Tesla’s volatile performance.

The Seal U’s surge reflects BYD’s aggressive European expansion strategy. EVXL previously reported that BYD surpassed Tesla in European sales for the first time in April 2025, leveraging affordable pricing and rapid product rollouts. The company has been targeting 50% of its sales from overseas markets by 2030, with Europe as a primary battleground.

Other Chinese brands also posted strong gains. The Nissan Qashqai surged 36% to 15,137 units, lifting the compact SUV into the top 15 after finishing 22nd place in September 2024. Volvo’s XC60, built on Chinese parent Geely’s platforms, climbed 26% to 8,194 units.

Volkswagen Brand Surges While Tesla’s Year-To-Date Sales Collapse

Volkswagen brand registered 124,875 units in September, up 9.7% and adding 11,055 units compared to September 2024. The German automaker placed three models in the top six: T-Roc in fourth (18,652 units, up 48.8%), Golf in fifth (18,256 units, up 16%), and Tiguan in sixth (17,852 units, down 14.4%).

The VW brand’s performance contrasts sharply with Tesla’s year-to-date struggles. Through nine months, Model Y sales totaled just 109,793 units, down a devastating 29.2% from 155,134 units in the same period last year. The electric SUV has fallen from being Europe’s dominant EV to a distant 17th in the year-to-date rankings, behind the Dacia Sandero (185,947 units) and Renault Clio (170,256 units).

Tesla’s Volatile 2025 Reflects Deeper Demand Issues

The Model Y’s September victory caps an erratic 2025 for Tesla in Europe. After finishing 2024 strong, the electric SUV plummeted in sales across major markets throughout spring and summer. In April, Tesla’s European registrations fell 53%, with Sweden down 81%, Germany down 46%, and the UK down 62%.

The collapse coincided with production downtime for the Model Y refresh, but EVXL’s reporting identified deeper issues: CEO Elon Musk’s political controversies, an aging product lineup, and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers with fresher designs and lower prices.

By July, Model Y had crashed to 60th place in European sales. The electric SUV rebounded to 17th in August before September’s first-place finish. This volatility suggests demand fluctuations driven by inventory clearing and regional delivery timing rather than sustainable consumer preference.

September Winners And Losers Reshape European Landscape

Beyond the top three, September’s results revealed shifting competitive dynamics. BMW’s 1 Series surged 154%, MG HS climbed 138%, and Audi’s A3 jumped 33%. Ford’s Kuga, however, fell 20% to 8,411 units, while VW’s Polo dropped 16% to 12,790 units and the Mini Cooper slid 14%.

The data, compiled by Dataforce representing 98% of sales in the European Union, EFTA markets, and the UK, excludes Finland and Portugal, which had not yet reported September figures at publication time.

For the nine-month period, Dacia Sandero maintained its large overall lead with 185,947 units (down 8.3%), followed by Renault Clio at 170,256 units (down 4.8%). VW’s T-Roc took third with 160,730 units, up 2.5%.

Renault Clio’s New Generation Debuts As Competition Intensifies

Renault’s second-place September finish comes as the French automaker prepares to launch the sixth-generation Clio, which debuted at IAA Munich in September and will launch across Europe in early 2026. The redesigned small car features updated styling, a new full hybrid powertrain delivering 160 hp, and larger dimensions while maintaining the CMF-B platform.

The Clio was Europe’s best-selling car in the first half of 2025 with 130,500 units, demonstrating continued strength in the affordable segment where Tesla has no competitive offering. The sixth generation’s launch timing coincides with intensifying competition from Chinese brands targeting the same price-conscious European buyers.

EVXL’s Take

Tesla’s September victory feels less like a comeback and more like a dead cat bounce. Sure, the Model Y topped the charts, but context matters: sales still fell 8.6% year-over-year, and the electric SUV remains down a catastrophic 29.2% for 2025. That’s not market leadership—it’s managed decline with occasional upticks driven by regional delivery surges and inventory clearance.

EVXL has been documenting Tesla’s European collapse since April, when the automaker’s sales cratered across Sweden, Germany, and the UK. We’ve consistently pointed to the root causes: an aging product lineup that hasn’t seen meaningful innovation since 2020, Musk’s political controversies alienating European buyers, and most critically, Chinese competitors like BYD offering fresher designs at lower prices.

The BYD Seal U’s 833% explosion tells the real story of Europe’s EV market in 2025. While Tesla treads water with a refreshed Model Y that buyers are increasingly ambivalent about, Chinese automakers are executing rapid product cycles and aggressive pricing that legacy automakers and Tesla alike struggle to match. The Seal U jumped from 187th to 22nd place in a single year—that’s not incremental growth, that’s market disruption.

Even more telling: Volkswagen brand posted 9.7% growth in September, adding 11,055 units compared to last year. The German giant that everyone wrote off as too slow for the EV transition is outperforming Tesla in its moment of supposed triumph. When legacy automakers start growing faster than the “disruptor,” it’s time to question who’s actually disrupting whom.

Looking ahead, the sixth-generation Clio’s early 2026 launch will test whether affordable, well-designed conventional vehicles can hold ground against both Tesla’s premium positioning and Chinese brands’ value offerings. For Tesla, the bigger question is whether September’s win represents genuine recovery or just another spike in an increasingly erratic sales pattern. With year-to-date sales down nearly 30%, we’re betting on the latter.

What do you think? Is Tesla’s European comeback real, or is this just inventory clearing ahead of another rough quarter? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Featured photo credit: Tesla