Tesla's monthly registrations rise across Europe as Chinese rivals gain ground

By Amir Orusov

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Registrations of new Tesla cars rose sharply across several European markets in October, extending the US electric vehicle maker's recovery in the region, but gains were uneven as Chinese rivals continued to expand their market share.

Tesla registrations soared 248% in Sweden, 131% in Norway and 34% in Denmark, data from Mobility Sweden, Norway's OFV and Denmark's bilstatistik.dk showed.

The automaker also recorded strong growth elsewhere in Europe, with registrations rising 271% in Spain, 186% in Portugal and 94% in Italy, according to data from ANFAC, ACAP and Italy's Transport Ministry.

The rebound has been aided by easier year-ago comparisons, higher fuel prices, government incentives and continued growth in EV demand. But the pace of recovery varied significantly between markets, underlining the increasingly fragmented nature of Europe's EV sector as Chinese brands broaden their presence.

Tesla remains one of Europe's strongest EV brands, though its reliance on the Model 3 and Model Y has left it facing growing competition from rivals with broader lineups.

The automaker said in October it had ended the third quarter with its largest passenger vehicle order backlog in four years.

Norway remained a bright spot for Tesla. The carmaker recorded its best October on record and was the country's top-selling car brand with a 9.8% market share, according to OFV. Chinese brands continued to expand their footprint, accounting for 22.5% of new passenger car registrations, their highest monthly share on record.

"Especially in Norway people are generally more affluent than elsewhere in Europe, people are less seeking the lower offerings of Chinese brands than in other European countries," Rico Luman, senior economist at ING Research, said.

By contrast, Tesla's market share in Denmark was only 0.73%, behind BYD, Leapmotor, Xpeng and SAIC-owned MG, which captured between 1.6% and 5.5% of the market each.

Italy showed a similar trend. Tesla's market share rose to 0.38%, but remained below that of BYD, Leapmotor and MG, whose shares ranged from 1.21% to 4.55%.

"Northern Europe is quite open to the new players as long as they are efficient EVs. That's what allowed Tesla to get to a leading position and it's what is allowing the Chinese to gain ground fast," industry analyst Felipe Munoz, who runs the Car Industry Analysis platform, told Reuters.

(Reporting by Amir Orusov in Gdansk, additional reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Tasim Zahid)