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Another week, another nugget of unfortunate sales news for Tesla: According to new data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), European Tesla car registrations were down for the seventh consecutive month in July, while registrations soared for the companys Chinese competitor BYD. BYDs European sales first overtook Tesla back in May. At the time, Felipe Munoz, global analyst for the vehicle data firm JATO Dynamics, told Reuters, This is a watershed moment for Europes car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022. In the weeks since then, BYD has only continued to build on its success, slowly boxing Tesla out as the dominant EV player in Europeand potentially inching toward overtaking Tesla as the global EV leader. A widening gap In early August, data from automotive firms in both the U.K. and Germany already revealed that Tesla had stumbled on sales in July compared to BYD. Now, the ACEAs new reportwhich accounts for countries in the European Union, the U.K., and the European Free Trade Associationshows that the same pattern played out across the entirety of the European market. Per the ACEA report, European car registrations of Tesla vehicles totaled 8,837 in July, down 40% year-on-year. BYD reported 13,503 registrations, up 225%. In terms of total market share, BYD now controls 1.2% of the market compared to Teslas 0.8%. From a macro perspective, July is a reflection of a broader pattern thats emerged in 2025: Since January, European Tesla registrations have slumped by over 33% compared to the same period in 2024, while BYDs registrations have risen by over 290%. As BYD has continued to grab European market share this year, its simultaneously been working on improving its tech to garner more mass market appeal. In March, the EV maker launched a new ultrafast charging system that it says is nearly as quick as pumping gas, and in July, it debuted a groundbreaking self-parking ability that allows it to navigate parking lots, find a spot, and park completely autonomously. Both are features that Tesla has yet to achieve. Meanwhile, Tesla has been battered this year by CEO Elon Musks reputational damage, a massive Cybertruck recall, and declining revenue. Recently, the brand has been shifting focus away from its existing vehicle lineup and toward breaking into the nascent robotaxi industry (though a recent Florida court verdict may stifle those plans). In a recent interview with CNBC, Thomas Besson, head of automobile sector research at Kepler Cheuvreux, said that Tesla has been actively trying to distract investors from its vehicle sales. They talk about almost everything else but the car theyre selling at a slower pace now because effectively, the age of their vehicle is much higher than the competition and the latest products have not been as successful as hoped, notably the Cybertruck, Besson said.
Category:
E-Commerce
The benefits of reading for pleasure have been well-documented over the years. But, according to a newly released study, the number of people who partake in the pastime has plummeted and disparities racial disparities when it comes to rates of reading have deepened. The study, which was published recently in iScience, examined cross-sectional data from 236,270 Americans collected over a 20 year span, from January 2003 to December 2023 (excluding 2020, as data collection was paused due to the pandemic). The research included analyzing surveys from those 15 and older about their daily habits. Researchers found that reading rates are way down, but not for everyone. Those who read for pleasure are doing so for longer intervals. At the start of the data collection in 20023, leisure readers read for an hour and 23 minutes per day. In 2023, that figure was up to an hour and 37 minutes. However, overall, the percentage of those who read for pleasure has seen a steep decline. Researchers concluded that activity has steadily dropped by about 3% per year over the course of the data collection.Plainly, less Americans are reading for pleasure now than they were 20 years ago. In fact, it dropped by 40%. In 2004, the number of leisure reading was at a high of 28%. Two years ago, in 2023, that figure was down to just 16%. The study’s authors say that sharp decline is cause for concern. This decline is concerning given earlier evidence for downward trends in reading for pleasure from the 1940s through to the start of our study in 2003, suggesting at least 80 years of continued decline in reading for pleasure, researchers wrote in the study.Perhaps more concerning, however, was the worsening disparity between Black and white Americans when it came to time spent reading for pleasure. In 2002, when leisure reading peaked for white adults, the percentage of those who partook in the activity was 29%. In 2023, it was down to 18%. Black adults who read for pleasure also peaked in 2004 at about 20%. But by 2023, the figure has dropped to just 9%. Therefore, Black respondents had a 49% lower prevalence of daily leisure reading than white respondents in 2023.Researchers wrote that a number of studies have shown that declines in reading are often correlated with greater use in digital media. Researchers also noted that people spent more time reading at home, as opposed to a public place like a local library, which, aside from racial disparities clearly present in the research, also brings up questions about accessibility as a factor. The research comes as funding for public libraries was recently cut by Trump’s March 2025 executive order. “By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administrations executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer, an American Library Association (ALA) statement said at the time. The study noted the recent findings represent an “urgent need” for greater accessibility and opportunities for reading “particularly among high-risk groups.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Best Buy stuck to its annual sales and profit forecasts on Thursday despite posting quarterly results that topped estimates, as it expects tariff-induced uncertainty in the second half of the year. Shares of the top U.S. electronics retailer fell 5.7% in morning trading, as investors focused on a likely hit to the company’s margins due to higher tariffs on U.S. imports. Several retailers, including Best Buy, have had to raise prices on some goods to absorb the hit from these steep levies. Company executives said the price hikes were lower than the overall rate of tariffs, owing to its mitigation strategies. Best Buy, which sources most of its goods from China, has also made efforts to diversify its supply chain and purchase more products from fewer partners to negotiate better terms in a bid to counter higher costs. Meanwhile, the company’s sales have struggled over the past three years as price-sensitive shoppers put off big-ticket purchases. CEO Corie Barry said customers had become more deal-focused and waited for shopping events such as Black Friday and back-to-school promotions, even though spending remained resilient. “Big-ticket purchases are approached more carefully, though consumers continue to spend on expensive technology when there is a clear need or innovation,” Barry said on a post-earnings call. On a media call with journalists, Barry said that the White House had been open to feedback from Corporate America on the impact of tariffs. Strong sales of Nintendo Switch 2 gaming consoles, which were launched in June, and a surge in demand for artificial intelligence-powered laptops and mobile phones helped reverse a sales decline during the quarter. “Tariffs and a pullback in discretionary big-ticket categories remain a drag, and unlike general merchandise (retailers), Best Buy has limited fallback categories to absorb that pressure,” Emarketer analyst Suzy Davidkhanian said. Comparable sales for the quarter ended August 2 rose 1.6%, the biggest increase in three years. Analysts on average had expected a 0.52% drop, according to data compiled by LSEG. On an adjusted basis, it earned $1.28 per share, compared with the estimates of $1.21 per share. The company expects comparable sales for fiscal year 2026 to range between a 1% drop and a 1% rise and an adjusted profit of between $6.15 and $6.30 per share. Savyata Mishra, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
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