Stellantis finished the first half of 2022 in the second spot for electric vehicle sales in Europe, easily beating Tesla in terms of volume and lagging just behind Volkswagen.
“We are head on fighting for the top spot in terms of BEV sales in European market,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in an earnings call, per Automotive News.
In all, the conglomerate sold 105,413 electric vehicles in the first six months of the year, while the VW Group sold 116,307. Tesla, meanwhile, sold just 78,277, hampered by lockdowns in China that affected production at its factory there.
Read Also: EV Sales Decline Across Europe For First Time Since April 2020
The Stellantis Group’s sales were led by the electric Fiat 500, which was the best-selling EV in Italy and Germany in the second quarter of 2022. In the first half of the year, Stellantis sold 32,315 of the little cars, a 72 percent increase over the same period in 2021.
Another important model was the Peugeot e-208, of which the company sold 21,918, or 11 percent more than it had in the first half of last year. The hatchback was the best-selling EV in France and its sister car, the Opel Corsa-e, also sold well with 13,380 examples leaving dealerships.
Tesla’s quarterly sales figures fell to their lowest levels in two years, but that was largely due to factory shutdowns, not a lack of interest in its vehicles. Despite the challenges, its Model Y remained the best-selling EV in Europe, with 39,969 finding new homes in H1, 2022. The Model 3 was just behind it with 38,280 sales, a 25 percent fall as compared to the same period in 2021.
Now that the Covid restriction have been largely lifted in China, the American automaker is expected to be resurgent in the second half of 2022. Stellantis, though, was even stronger in the second quarter of this year than it was in the first, which could mean that it’s building sales steam, too. With key EVs like the Peugeot 308 and 3008, as well as the Opel Astra, coming soon, Stellantis is working hard to take the European sales crown.
