Tesla Motors (TSLA.US) saw a significant increase in European registrations in August and has maintained strong momentum so far this year, though its growth rate has been outpaced by the rapid expansion of Chinese competitors including BYD, Chery, and Leapmotor.

In August, Tesla's growth rate within the European Union was notably higher than that of the broader EU plus European Free Trade Association (EFTA) plus UK region. Within the EU alone, Tesla registered 12,547 vehicles in August, a year-on-year increase of 52.7%, with market share rising from 1.2% to 1.8%. Through August, registrations jumped 65.9% to 142,165 units, bringing Tesla's market share to 1.9%, up from 1.2% last year.

Across the wider EU, EFTA, and UK region, Tesla's August growth was much slower at just 4%, with 15,430 registrations and market share holding steady at 1.9%. For the January-to-August period, registrations rose 43.3% to 191,787 units, with share increasing from 1.5% to 2.1%.

Meanwhile, BYD registered 234,099 vehicles in the broader European region through August, a year-on-year increase of 144.1%; Chery's registrations soared 279.7% to 207,871 units. Leapmotor posted the largest gain, with registrations surging 449.9%.

The overall European auto market is also expanding. EU registrations grew 5.3% to 7.55 million units; battery electric vehicle registrations jumped 44.9% to 1.64 million units. Electric vehicles accounted for 21.7% of EU registrations, up from 15.8% last year.

Tesla has been aggressively pushing for the expansion of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in Europe. Earlier this week, the Czech Republic reportedly became the seventh European market to approve the system, and the automaker is already in talks with Irish authorities. France has begun road testing, after Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said in July that while Tesla's autonomous driving system brought significant technological advances, its safety benefits were not yet sufficient to justify authorization. A broader EU-wide approval vote may take place next month.

Tesla is scheduled to showcase its new Semi electric truck manufacturing facility in Sparks, Nevada, later on Thursday. This comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled the production version of its Cybercab robotaxi in Austin. The Nevada facility spans approximately 1.7 million square feet and is expected to eventually have the capacity to produce up to 50,000 Semi trucks annually.