Tesla is going through the most difficult year of its recent existence. Even though its two more affordable models, the Model 3 and Model Y, are still popular, buyers are reconsidering buying one because they don’t like Elon Musk. The Tesla boss’ foray into politics and his support of President Trump is having a profound negative effect on sales that’s especially visible in Europe.
People are actively protesting against Elon Musk in many European countries, encouraging car buyers not to give Tesla their business. Sales in some countries have fallen by as much as 50%, which is reflected in Tesla's Q1 sales report, showing a year-over-year global sales drop of 13% in the first quarter.
If you were considering buying the cheapest Tesla, the Model 3, which starts at €39,900 before incentives, it’s still a great car, one of the best. Even with the smaller battery pack, the Model 3 delivers 318 miles (512 km) of range. You can pay an extra €5,000 for the long-range rear-wheel-drive Model 3, which is more powerful and ups the WLTP range to 436 miles (702 km).
Gallery: 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long Range
The Model 3 Highland update addressed many older issues, especially ride comfort, although it's not quite as sharp to drive as before. Tesla even made the Model 3 Performance look and feel like a proper hot version of a sports sedan (which it didn’t before) thanks to a unique exterior, sporty bucket seats and other much-needed changes. The Model 3 Performance is now better than ever, and at €57,900 in Europe, it’s a bit of a bargain considering how quick it is.
We get why you may not want to buy a Tesla in Europe and have prepared a list of alternatives, including several very talented Chinese cars that are not available in the United States. While a few years ago, the only real Model 3 rival was the Polestar 2 (and even that wasn’t exactly a direct rival since it’s a bit taller and a liftback), now there are several midsize EVs that you can buy in Europe, and it’s a very competitive segment populated by very enticing vehicles.
Polestar 2
The Polestar 2 is an oldie in the midsize sedan segment, proving popular in its nearly five years on sale. However, while it may look the same as it did back in 2020, Polestar has made numerous under-the-skin improvements that won’t become apparent until you’ve driven an early example back-to-back with the latest version.
The big change for the Polestar 2 came in 2023 when the base model was changed from front- to rear-wheel drive and it got more power and performance. This made a big difference to the way it drives, making it more engaging than before.
Battery capacity was also increased from 78 kilowatt-hours to 82 kWh, increasing the single-motor long-range variant’s WLTP range to 394 miles (634 km). This version has a 299 hp motor good for an acceleration time to 60 mph of 5.9 seconds, and you can add a second motor for a combined 421 hp and 4.3 seconds to sixty. The optional Performance Pack ups power to 476 hp and lowers the sprint time to 4 seconds, and it still has 367 miles (590 km) of claimed range on the European test cycle.
You can buy one in Europe starting under €50,000, but for that you get the smaller 69 kWh battery, less power at 272 hp and 321 miles (516 km) of WLTP range. The top model will set you back around €66,000, with slight variations depending on where in Europe you’re buying it.
BMW i4
BMW sells a lot of EVs around the world, and Europe isn’t an exception. Its i4 is a strong seller, and it offers exactly what you’d expect from an electric 4 Series Gran Coupe. It drives well, it has a top-notch interior that is well built, feels expensive and has decent range too.
The base i4 eDrive35 costs €57.500 and comes with a single rear electric motor that makes 282 hp (286 PS) and can send the car to 62 mph in exactly 6 seconds. Its 70.3 kWh battery, with a usable capacity of 67.1 kWh, gives it a WLTP range of up to 310 miles (500 km).
The rear-wheel-drive variant to get is the eDrive40, which is €30,000 more expensive, but it gets the larger 83.9 kWh battery that pushes range to 372 miles (600 km), and it’s also slightly more powerful with a lower sprint time of 5.7 seconds. BMW also offers a dual-motor all-wheel-drive i4 xDrive40, which has 395 hp (401 PS) and can accelerate to 62 mph in 5.1 seconds.
The most powerful i4, the M50, costs €72,100. It has the same larger battery but even more power out of its two motors for a combined 536 hp (544 PS) and an acceleration time of 3.9 seconds. It’s no sports car, though, with a total mass of over 4,800 pounds (2,185 kg), which you can really feel driving around a bendy road.
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Many may not consider the Hyundai Ioniq 6 as an alternative to the Model 3 because of its unusual streamlined styling that seems to split opinions. However, that shape is not just for show; it gives this pebble-shaped sedan a drag coefficient of just 0.21. The model was recently restyled, so you may like it better now.
Like most Hyundai-Kia group electric vehicles, the Ioniq 6 is built on the E-GMP 800-volt electric platform, which allows it to charge quicker than most vehicles on this list (including the Model 3), and it helps cut its electricity consumption while running.
The pre-refresh Ioniq 6 got either a 53 kWh battery in base form, good for 266 miles (429 km) WLTP, or a 78 kWh pack that gave the 225 hp single-motor model up to 381 miles (614 km) of range. The all-wheel-drive variant adds a front motor for a combined 320 hp (325 PS), good for an acceleration time of 5.1 seconds, and the range drops slightly to 362 miles (583 km).
With the facelift, Hyundai will likely introduce new, slightly higher-capacity battery packs as well as a range-topping Ioniq 6 N performance variant, which, if the Ioniq 5 N is any indication (and it is), will be quite something to drive and experience.
The base price of an Ioniq 6 in Germany today is €43,900. If you want the long-range battery, it climbs to €54,000. Adding all-wheel drive pushes the price to €61,100. Pricing will likely change once the refreshed model is rolled out.
BYD Seal
Those who have driven both the Model 3 and the BYD Seal say the latter feels better inside, and it’s just a little bit more luxurious than the Tesla, whose pursuit of minimalism may not be to all buyers’ taste. The Seal is winning many Model 3 buyers in Europe, thanks to its excellent road manners and convincing range figures.
You can buy a Seal in Europe with one of two LFP batteries, the larger of which has 84 kWh (82.5 kWh usable) and is good for up to 354 miles (570 km) WLTP. The standard model gets a single 313 hp rear motor, while the dual motor bumps that up to 530 hp for an acceleration time to 62 mph of 3.8 seconds.
Even though it’s more powerful than a Model 3, the Seal is a bit heavier, so it can’t match the Tesla’s pace. It also doesn’t charge as quickly as the Model 3, topping out at 150 kW for a 0-80% charging time of 37 minutes, which is the least of any car on this list, and even with a bigger battery, it can’t match the Tesla and Hyundai for range.
It starts at €46,990, with all-wheel drive pushing the price to €50,990, a great deal before any national incentives are applied. It also strikes a great balance between an engaging drive through the corners and remaining comfortable over uneven roads.
Nio ET5
Nio has been selling cars in several European markets since 2021, and they are now fairly common in the Nordic countries, Germany, and the Netherlands. The manufacturer’s third model on the continent (after the ES8 and ET7) is the ET5, which is a direct Model 3 rival in terms of size, specs, and scope.
It’s the car on this list with the most dramatic sloping roofline, and Nio even adds a black panel at the top of the decklid to make it look even smaller to accentuate the fastback effect. It looks great from a front three-quarter perspective with a rear part that makes it look like a mini-Porsche Panamera.
One cool thing about the ET5 is that it’s also available as the ET5 Touring, which looks like a mini-Panamera Sport Turismo. This increases the available trunk load volume from 13.7 cu-ft (387 liters) to 15.9 cu-ft (450 l), and it makes the ET5 a whole lot more practical for carrying larger items.
Another unique option that Nio offers is renting rather than buying the vehicle’s battery. This brings the upfront cost down but requires owners to pay a monthly subscription. This grants owners access to Nio’s battery-swapping scheme (the only one of its kind currently operational in Europe), which features 59 swapping stations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany.
If you order an ET5 by the end of June, Nio will throw in two years of battery-as-a-service (BaaS) free. The standard monthly BaaS fee is €169 for the standard battery or €289 for the larger long-range pack. There’s also a €10 fee for every swap, and Nio is charging customers €0.39 for each kilowatt-hour used.
The base ET5 sedan with the 75 kWh standard-range battery quoted at 283 miles (410 km) WLTP has an upfront cost of €59,500, and the wagon is €2,000 more expensive. The long-range 100 kWh pack boosts the range to 367 miles (590 km) and costs €68,500. Opting for BaaS cuts the price by €12,000 for the standard car or €21,000 for a long-range ET5.
Zeekr 001
You can think of the Zeekr 001 as a more budget-friendly alternative to a Taycan Sport Turismo and, just like the Porsche, it has an 800-volt platform with all the advantages it brings. Zeekr was only founded in 2021, but the Geely-owned brand now has a controlling share in Lynk&Co and its vehicles are designed in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Even though Zeekr calls the 001 a “shooting brake,” it’s more of a fastback with slanted rear glass and a liftback tailgate that reveals a sizable 18.7 cu-ft (530 l) trunk. One 100 kWh battery pack is offered, which gives a WLTP range of 385 miles (620 km) or 369 miles (594 km) in dual-motor guise.
The single-motor 001 starts at €54,990 and has 268 hp, giving it a 0-62 mph time of 7.1 seconds. Adding a second motor for €65,490 doubles the power and slashes the acceleration time to 3.8 seconds.
There’s also a bonkers quad-motor hot version, the 001 FR, with a combined output of 1,247 hp and a quoted sprint time of 2.02 seconds. It will keep accelerating up to 173 mph (280 km/h), making it a serious performance machine. However, it’s unlikely for the Plaid-rivaling FR to arrive in Europe. EU tariffs imposed on Chinese-made EVs probably make it uneconomical to import.
