Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financial)’s Model 3 raced its way to second place in European car sales last month, settling just behind Volkswagen AG (XTER:VOW3, Financial)’s Golf model according to data collected by JATO Dynamics.
The research firm surveyed 26 European markets, noting 1.26 million new passenger cars registered in the month of June. Overall, low emissions vehicles, namely battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) like the Model 3, set a new record total for market share at 18.5% compared to 8.2% recorded in June 2020. Registrations of BEVs totalled 126,000 units during the month with plug-in hybrids following closely behind at 104,000 registered units.
The Model 3 from Tesla fell just shy of first place in overall rankings, with registrations landing at 25,697 units. Despite its silver medal, the JATO study noted that the modely has seen 66,350 units registered throughout this year, ranking it easily as the most popular electric vehicle in Europe. This year’s registrations also landed the Tesla as the 25th best-selling model in the general rankings across Europe.
Despite the success seen in Europe, the company’s second-quarter press release stated ongoing struggles with its supply chain that has been hampering production. It highlighted both port congestion and the ongoing semiconductor shortage as key issues that have prevented the company from operating at full capacity. Supply remains far below demand as the company seeks to finish its Berlin gigafactory and the company said it still has a lot of work to do before it is ready to introduce its groundbreaking 4680 battery cells.
On July 29, Tesla's (TSLA, Financial) stock was trading at $658.90 per share, up 1.84%, with a market cap of $653.41 billion. According to the GF Value Line, the shares are trading at a significantly overvalued rating.
Top gurus invested in Tesla include Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Catherine Wood (Trades, Portfolio), Primecap Management and Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio).
Volkswagen's (XTER:VOW3, Financial) Golf model landed itself in first place overall based upon the data collected by JATO with 27,247 new registrations, just 1,550 units ahead of the Model 3. The year-over-year increase of 12% landed the Golf back at a 2.15% market share across the European markets, but was still short of the volume seen in 2019.
The company's own electric vehicles lagged well behind Tesla registrations despite seeing higher demand in Europe according to their half-yearly financial results. The company’s ID.3 model saw 7,040 registrations, while the ID.4 model settled at a meager 6,347 units for the month according to JATO’s data.
Flying under the radar, Volkswagen has built itself into a leader in the electric vehicle market, claiming 170,939 all-electric vehicle deliveries in the first six months of 2021. The company’s ID family of vehicles has expanded dramatically to four models on the market with a fifth coming next year. The group's premium Audi and Porsche brands have also released their own ventures into the electric vehicle market.
However, Volkswagen’s success up to this point has not been enough to satisfy CEO Herbert Diess. He has set a target of surpassing all other manufacturers and becoming the industry leader in electric vehicles by 2025. “Our goal is to become the world market leader for e-vehicles,” Diess said.
Overall, the company seems to be making good on its goals for the next several years. It has invested tens of billions into new battery factories across Europe, which should drastically shorten supply chains. Across its separate brands, the company has also developed new partnerships to further its own battery development and avoid a reliance on outside manufacturers.
As of July 29, Volkswagen's (XTER:VOW3, Financial) stock was trading at 203.85 euros per share ($242.42) with a market cap of 123.97 billion euros. The GF Value Line shows the shares trading at a significantly overvalued rating.
Top gurus invested in Volkswagen include the T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio) and the Signature Select Candian Fund.
