Chinese car makers surge in Europe as Tesla faces data scrutiny

European vehicle registrations rose 3.6% in May, reaching 1.15 million units, driven largely by electric and hybrid models that accounted for more than two‑thirds of new sales. Chinese manufacturers posted rapid growth: Leapmotor's sales jumped 465.1%, Chery rose 244.1%, BYD up 136.6%, with Geely and SAIC also posting gains. Traditional Western brands such as Renault, Stellantis and Volkswagen saw declines of 1%‑3% as the market pivots toward electrified vehicles.

At the same time, Tesla's Full Self‑Driving (FSD) system is under investigation in Europe. Researchers allege the company supplied exaggerated safety data to regulators in Sweden and the Netherlands, claiming the system could travel seven times farther than a human driver without incident and save tens of thousands of lives. Independent analysis disputes these figures, noting the assumptions inflate performance by treating all road traffic as Tesla‑equipped. Dutch regulator RDW has approved supervised trials but has not disclosed testing details, prompting calls for full data transparency before broader EU approval is considered.