Tesla Model 3 Dethrones Renault Zoe in France as Top-Selling EV: Report

The Tesla Model 3 was the top-selling electric vehicle (EV) in France for this year’s first quarter, and the electric sedan has continued its reign into the month of May, as reported in a new update.

According to French data collected by BFMTV (via @SawyerMerritt), Tesla’s Model 3 outsold the Renault Zoe in France between January and May, selling a total of 8,083 units to the Zoe’s 7,448 units. Trailing behind the Renault Zoe was the Peugeot e-208 with 7,233 units registered.

As of April 2021, year-to-date data compiled by EV Sales noted the Model 3 was already ahead of the Renault Zoe, with 5,972 units sold versus 4,871.

All in all, Tesla has collected a 15.7% market share in France during the same period, also as the best-performing imported EV by a longshot. The next closest imported EV was the Volkswagen ID.3, which only sold a total of 1,786 units in the country during the same period of time.

Despite the impressive numbers in France, all of Tesla’s models missed the top 10 throughout Europe in April sales alone, with Volkswagen’s ID.3 and ID.4 taking up two of the top spots across the continent. The month is traditionally a slow one for Tesla, which usually makes huge production pushes nearing the end of each quarter, being just the start of the year’s second fiscal quarter.

In contrast, and showing off Tesla’s end-of-quarter sales, the company smashed competition with Model 3 sales numbers throughout Europe, nearly selling five times as many of the electric sedan as the next best-selling EV alone.

It will be interesting to see the numbers in Europe once Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin starts production, slated for the end of 2021. Until then, cars will still need to be imported from Gigafactory Shanghai in China.