As Tesla's European sales plunge 36% in August, automakers warn the EV market is now on a “continuous downward trajectory”

Finally Elon Musk had something to celebrate in Europe for a change: sales of new Tesla Cars collapsed by about a third in August.

The good news is that it could have been a lot worse.

For most of this year, the only market that has consistently… He didn't answer Musk's combination of stimulative price cuts, discounted financing rates and, in the case of his Model 3, Light design refreshes has been the old continent.

Europeans, spoilt for choice in a stagnant car market, are turning to rival brands with newer models better suited to domestic roads. As a result, Tesla has suffered a steady and persistent decline in its market share since March.

After month after month of disproportionately weak sales, Tesla new car registrations fell exactly in line with the overall European EV market in August, providing much-needed relief.

According Data released on Thursday According to industry association ACEA, Tesla's volumes fell 36% last month compared with a year earlier to just 21,701 vehicles.

This decline was in line with the overall demand for electric vehicles in the European market as a whole. If both EU members and non-EU states such as the UK, Switzerland and Norway are included, electric vehicle sales in August fell by the same proportion.

“The electric car market is now on a continuous downward trajectory,” ACEA said in a statement.

China looks brighter

While August is one of the least significant months of the calendar in terms of car sales, demand for electric vehicles among Europeans also fell in May and July and remained stable in June.

As a result, the continent's EV market has shrunk by 5.5% in the first eight months, to 1.21 million units. In comparison, overall demand rose by just 1.7% once other powertrains, such as hybrids, are included.

Due to increased competition, Tesla's decline was much more dramatic over the same eight-month period. Volumes fell 15.8% to just over 200,000 vehicles.

Elsewhere, Tesla's performance is more promising, with China on track for a record third quarter, albeit helped in part by attractive financing rates. erode profit margins.

'Extremely worrying'

Europe is completely different. Competition comes mainly from other European players who have strong incentives to sell a significant share of their electric vehicles to avoid prohibitively expensive regulatory fines imposed by the European Commission in Brussels.

The story continues

BMW eclipsed Tesla as the European market leader in July. first time in lifeAccording to the latest monthly report figures from market research firm JATO Dynamics.

However, the sharp drop in August across the entire electric vehicle market has spooked carmakers, who fear the possibility of billions of euros in fines.

ACEA, a pressure group representing most car manufacturers operating in Europe, though not Tesla, urged the incoming European Commission take measures to stimulate demand for electric vehicles.

“The electric car market is now on a continued downward trajectory,” he said Thursday, calling recent demand signals “extremely worrying.”

Tesla did not respond to a Fortune Request for comments.

This story originally appeared in Fortune.com