In September, Tesla regained the lead in electric car sales in Portugal, reversing its third-place finish the previous month , when it had fallen behind BYD and BMW. Data from ACAP , the Portuguese Automobile Association , shows that the American manufacturer led by Elon Musk registered 1,204 new license plates in September, representing a 17.5 percent increase compared to the same month in 2024. Tis includes passenger cars and ambulances. Tis improvement can be partly explained by the arrival in Portugal of the latest Tesla Model Y update , announced in August, with deliveries beginning in September. Furthermore, the brand even managed to reach the top four in passenger car sales, considering all engines. BYD took second place this time, with 460 units registered (53.3 percent more), while BMW rounded out the top fve with 375 units (8.4 percent more). Te only decline in the top fve was compared to September of last year , Mercedes-Benz, which took ffth place with 222 vehicles registered (26 percent less). In a challenging year for Tesla in several countries and markets, the manufacturer leads sales in Portugal for the frst nine months of the year, with 5,809 new registrations. However, this represents a signifcant 19.6 percent drop compared to the same period last year, leaving Tesla at the mercy of BYD. Te Chinese brand had 3,373 registrations (an 87 percent increase), just ten more than BMW (which increased 16.1 percent). So far, only ten manufacturers have managed to reach the 1,000-plus electric vehicle sales mark this year in Portugal, with Audi leading the way with 1,129 new registrations - a 9.7 percent increase. According to ACAP data, all-electric passenger cars grew 23 percent in September compared to the same month last year, with a total of 4,984 new units registered. Overall, the increase was 26.3 percent by the end of the ninth month, with 61,631 new registrations. All-electric light-duty vehicles sold 349 in September (up 102.9 percent) and 2,400 in the frst nine months (up 40.7 percent). In terms of heavy vehicles, 19 were sold in August and 172 so far this year (an increase of 77.3 percent).