What a difference a year makes. Rewind the clock to early 2024 and Tesla’s European arm was basking in the glory of becoming the best-selling electric brand in the region for the whole of 2023, and the first company to put an EV – the Model Y – on top of the the overall sales chart.

Now, fresh sales data from 28 key markets, including the EU, the UK, Norway, and Switzerland, shows that not only are Tesla’s sales down, but the American EV brand is also being collectively outperformed by Chinese-owned automakers.

Related: Tesla’s European Sales Have Collapsed, Down 45% As EV Market Surges 31%

Figures from Jato Dynamics reveal Tesla sold 15,700 cars in February 2025, down from 28,100 a year earlier, a drop of 44 percent against an EV market that was up by 26 percent to 164,100 units. Chinese-owned brands clocked up 19,800 sales this February, throwing serious shade in Tesla’s direction and leaving us in no doubt that China is making serious inroads into the European car market. And it’s only just started.

Tesla’s Market Share Takes a Hit

Tesla’s poor performance cut its market share to 9.6 percent, its worst February showing for five years, and the automaker’s year-to-date market share is down from 18.4 percent to 7.7 percent compared with 2024’s numbers. One partial explanation for that is the arrival of the facelifted Model Y ‘Juniper,’ which was revealed in January of this year, but wasn’t immediately available in Europe. It’s only natural that buyers would want to wait for the new-look SUV.

Model Y sales fell 56 percent to 8,800 units, while Model 3 sales fell by a less extreme (but still worrying) 14 percent to 6,800 units, which Jato says indicates Tesla’s overall slide is less to do with anti-Elon Musk sentiment than the imminent arrival of the the new Y.

EV Sales by Brand, Feb 25

VW, Chinese Brands, and the New Wave

Whether the new model can fully reverse the slide remains to be seen, but we doubt it. The Juniper changes aren’t that comprehensive and Chinese brands (and legacy Western ones) are only increasing their attack on Tesla. BYD’s sales grew 94 percent to 4,436, Polestar was up 84 percent to 2,405, and newcomer XPeng logged 1,034 sales, representing an increase of 259 percent from February 2024.

The best-performing brand in terms of EV sales, however, was VW, whose registrations boomed 180 percent to 19,600. The German brand’s ID.4 was the third-best-selling EV behind the Model 3 and Model Y, and VW,’s ID.7 and ID.3 were in fifth and sixth spot, separated from the ID.4 by Renault’s Car of the Year-winning 5.

EV Sales by Model, Feb 25

You’d think the most affordable car in an automaker’s lineup would also be the cheapest to insure. Makes sense, right? Well, not for Tesla. In fact, it’s quite the opposite—the Cybertruck, that giant stainless steel wedge, is actually the least expensive Tesla to insure, with significantly lower rates than the entry-level Model 3 sedan.

According to a recent study compiled by Insurify, full-coverage insurance for the Cybertruck costs an average of $3,392 per year. That’s 45% more than the national average ($2,336) and 17% higher than the typical EV ($2,892), but still cheaper than insuring any other model in Tesla’s current lineup.

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In fact, the Model 3 has the highest insurance rates in the Tesla lineup with an average of $4,347. That means insuring Tesla’s most affordable model costs 28% more than the Cybertruck, which starts at $79,990, even though the Model 3 is 53% cheaper to buy in its base form at $42,990 before federal and state credits, delivery fees, and taxes.

As for the rest of the pack, full-coverage insurance averages $3,510 for the Model S, $3,658 for the Model X, and $3,832 for the Model Y.

Insurance Costs Across Tesla and EV Models

Why Is the Cybertruck Cheaper to Insure?

So, what’s behind this insurance pricing paradox? A big factor is credit scores. Insurify found that 66% of Cybertruck drivers have an excellent credit score, compared to just 13% of Model 3 drivers and 35% of EV drivers overall. The Model 3’s lower credit score average is likely tied to its mass-market appeal—Tesla sells a lot more of them, and its buyers tend to be younger and/or have riskier financial profiles.

In particular, half of Cybertruck owners (50%) are in their 40s, while only 14% of Model 3 owners fall into that age group. Since older drivers generally pose less of an insurance risk, this helps keep Cybertruck rates in check.

More: EV Crash Claims Jump 38%, And Repairs Are Pricier Than Ever

Even with its relatively low insurance costs, the Cybertruck still isn’t the cheapest electric truck to insure. That title goes to the Ford F-150 Lightning, which averages $3,193 per year or 6% less than the Cybertruck. The Lightning’s lower insurance costs are likely due to its more affordable starting price and cheaper repair costs, despite the fact that only 18% of Lightning owners have excellent credit (compared to the Cybertruck’s 66%).

Will Cybertruck Insurance Rates Stay Low?

That depends. If Tesla lowers the Cybertruck’s entry price, it could attract a younger, riskier demographic, which would likely push insurance rates higher. At the same time, rising EV repair costs could add even more pressure, making premiums climb further. Since EVs are already more expensive to fix than gas-powered cars, any increase in repair expenses could have an outsized impact on insurance pricing.

More: Insurance Companies Are Writing Off Cars Faster Than Ever After Accidents

Broadly speaking, EVs cost more to insure because post-accident repair costs are 30% higher on average, and they’re more likely to be deemed total losses. Batteries, advanced sensors, and proprietary parts make even minor collisions costly. That trend isn’t unique to Tesla, but given its vehicles’ repair complexities, it’s a key factor in the company’s insurance rates.

For now, though, the Cybertruck remains an insurance outlier, one of the rare cases where a high-priced vehicle is cheaper to insure than its budget-friendly sibling. Whether that trend holds depends on how Tesla’s sales, pricing, and repair costs evolve in the years ahead.

Tesla

Electric cars contain fewer moving parts than combustion cars so, theoretically, should be less likely to go wrong, but Tesla’s Model 3 seems to be turning that logic on its head. That’s because close to one in every four examples of the electric sedan failed safety tests in Denmark last year.

MY2020 Model 3s became old enough to require an inspection by the Danish Road Traffic Authority in 2024, and of the 4,668 examples tested, 1,051 failed. That’s a 23 percent failure rate and compares badly with a 9 percent rate witnessed in rival EVs, the Federation of Danish Motorists (FDM) reports.

More: Tesla Model 3 Ranks Dead Last In German Reliability Tests For Newer Cars

Inspectors logged 1,392 defects on the Teslas, three times as many as they discovered on other EVs. Frequently noted problems concern the lights, braking, steering and suspension. Testers at Germany’s TÜV carrying out similar safety checks uncovered the same kind of issues with Model 3s sold in their market. In both 2023 and 2024, the Model 3 ranked last in the TÜV reliability study.

Will Newer Model 3 Highlands Be Any Better?

The new Danish data only covers MY2020 Model 3s, but FDM’s Lone Otto predicts owners of newer models are in line for some of the same pain.

“We have no reason to believe that younger generations of the Tesla Model 3 will differ significantly from the 2020 generation when it comes to defects and the failure rate,” the technical advisory team’s manager said. “It will be more exciting to see how the Tesla Model Y fares.”

The Model Y has been a big seller in Denmark topping the nation’s list of most popular EVs, which means they’ll make up a big proportion of the cars on the test ramps during 2025. In total, 62,000 electric cars will be subjected to the test, and 45,000 of them will get the treatment for the first time, illustrating just how rapidly the EV market grew between 2020 and 2021.

Last month in the US, Tesla was forced to recall 380,000 cars after some Model 3 and Model Y owners reported losing steering assistance. The automaker sent out an an over-the-air (OTA) update to address the problem.

As electric vehicles continue to gain traction on U.S. roads, their crash claims are rising right along with them. According to collision management software provider Mitchell, the US recorded 38% more claims for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2024 compared to 2023. This surge isn’t exactly shocking, given the growing popularity of fully electric cars. However, it does highlight just how much more expensive these vehicles are to repair.

Rising EV Collision Claims

The study revealed that EVs accounted for 2.71% of all claims in the States in 2024, marking a 38% increase over the previous year. In Canada, the percentage was slightly higher at 3.84%, reflecting a 34% year-over-year jump. These figures are another indication of the rapid growth in EV adoption across North America.

More: EVs Cost 20% More To Repair After Collisions Than ICE Cars

In fact, according to Argonne National Laboratory and Electric Autonomy, there are over 100 different EV models sold in the U.S. and 75 in Canada, with dozens more expected by the end of this year. It’s clear that electric cars are here to stay, and they’re crashing just as often as their gas-guzzling counterparts.

In terms of total loss frequency, EVs experienced a jump from 8% in 2023 to 10.2% in 2024. Mitchell noted that this 2% rise in write-offs was consistent across all vehicle powertrains in America, primarily due to a spike in catastrophic claims during the latter half of 2024.

Tesla Leads the Pack in Claims Frequency

Unsurprisingly, Tesla models dominate the EV crash claim stats. The Model Y and Model 3 topped the charts in the US, with claim frequencies of 31.43% and 29.86% respectively. Together, these two models accounted for more than 60% of the claims for collision-damaged repairable EVs in 2024.

When you factor in the Model S (5.53%) and the Model X (4.58%), Tesla’s share of the total climbs to a hefty 71.4%. The only non-Tesla BEV to crack the top five was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which saw a claim frequency of 6.37%.

More: Guess How Much It Costs To Repair This Rivian R1T?

Tesla’s dominance isn’t surprising, given the sheer volume of Model Ys and Model 3s on the road. The more cars there are, the greater the likelihood of accidents, and Tesla has more than its fair share of both.

What About The Repair Costs?

Mitchell’s study also revealed the average repair costs for collision-damaged vehicles in 2024, highlighting the stark difference between EVs and traditional internal combustion engines. Electric cars proved to be the most expensive to repair, with an average claim severity of $6,236 in the US, marking a 3% decrease compared to 2023. For reference, ICE vehicles came in at a lower average of $5,066.

However, when we look only at newer ICE models ($6,127), their repair costs begin to rival those of electric cars. This is due to the increased complexity of newer ICE cars, which translates into higher repair costs.

Average Repair Costs (2024)

There are, of course, outliers. Take Rivian, for instance, where owners have frequently voiced frustration over absurdly high repair costs for what are often relatively minor damages – a topic we’ve revisited more than once on these pages.

More: Rivian Owner’s Quality And Service Nightmares Expose The Pain Of Being A ‘Beta Tester’

Mitchell also pointed out that EV values have been declining faster than other powertrain types. This drop in value is linked to factors such as reduced manufacturing costs, the increasing age of these vehicles, and consumer concerns over battery health, especially in used models. As a result, the average total loss market value for EVs dropped significantly in 2024, falling to $33,346 in the U.S. (-22%) and $40,203 in Canada (-18.5%).