Tesla's European sales mixed in August, strong in France and Denmark

By Amir Orusov

Sept 1 (Reuters) - Tesla's August registrations across several European markets painted a mixed picture on Tuesday, with strong gains in France and Denmark contrasted by declines in Norway, Spain, Sweden, Portugal and Italy.

Registrations of new Tesla vehicles, a proxy for sales, soared 279% in France and 104% in Denmark from a year ago, according to data from French car industry body PFA and Danish vehicle data platform bilstatistik.dk.

Registrations fell 79% in Norway and Spain, 41% in Sweden, 37% in Portugal and 36% in Italy, data from industry groups OFV, Mobility Sweden, ANFAC and ACAP, as well as Italy's Transport Ministry, showed.

Sales in France and Denmark benefit from rising electric vehicle adoption and Tesla's more affordable pricing, said Rico Luman, senior economist at ING Research.

"It's still a remarkable surge, because the range of EV models continues to expand and the new Chinese players have their role," Luman added.

The decline in Norway likely reflects tough comparisons from a year ago, when registrations were boosted by buyers bringing forward purchases ahead of a fiscal policy change at the end of 2025, said Matthias Schmidt, European auto market analyst at Schmidt Automotive.

Tesla's sales in Europe have so far rebounded this year after two straight annual declines, helped by easier year-ago comparisons, higher fuel prices, government incentives and growing consumer interest in electric cars.

Registration data from Britain and Germany, Europe's two largest car markets, is due later this week.

(Reporting by Amir Orusov in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Rod Nickel)