Tesla registrations continued to decline in France in March, dropping by 36.8%, within an overall slowing electric vehicle market, according to figures released Tuesday by the Automotive Platform (PFA).
The American electric car manufacturer saw its registrations fall by 41% in France since the start of 2025, selling 6,693 vehicles. This decline comes amid a broad modernisation and was potentially impacted by the behaviour of its CEO Elon Musk.
Overall, the new car market stalled in March, decreasing by 14.5%, according to PFA figures. With 153,842 registrations, the market returned to its March 2022 level, previously hampered by chip shortages and the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The decline notably impacted the Stellantis group, which saw a 17% drop year-on-year. Renault-Dacia remained stable with a 0.99% decrease and now closely follows Stellantis. Volkswagen, the third-largest manufacturer, also fell by 4.8%, significantly affected by its Seat brand.
Electric vehicle sales decreased alongside the market, but their share of total sales remained stable at 19% over the past year.
Cautious consumers
During the first three months of the year, the French automotive market declined by 7.8%.
"Consumers are cautious [amid a complex economic environment]," commented PFA President Luc Chatel on Radio Classique.
Chatel also attributed the sharp March decline to governmental fiscal decisions, with new penalties on petrol cars and reduced incentives for electric vehicle purchases taking effect from 1 March.
The new vehicle purchase penalty scheme affects most petrol cars sold in France since 1 March.
