Electric and hybrid cars continued to support the European Union’s car market in May, with passenger car registrations up 3.2% year-on-year to 955,013 vehicles, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said, according to AFP.
The association, which represents Europe’s 16 largest carmakers, said registrations of cars equipped with pure internal combustion engines fell by around a fifth in May, to 210,383 petrol cars and 69,482 diesel cars, while sales of fully electric vehicles rose by around 43% to 203,417 units. Hybrid car registrations also saw solid growth in May, according to ACEA data, according to Agerpres. At the same time, the Romanian car market recorded a 6.9% increase in May, when 11,250 cars of all types were registered.
As for the major EU car markets, in Germany, car sales increased by only 0.1% in May, while the increase was significantly higher in France, with a 3.7% increase, and in Italy, with a 7.6% increase. In Spain, registrations fell by 0.8%.
Among the main general manufacturers, the German group Volkswagen remained the clear market leader in the European Union, but recorded a 3.6% decrease in sales, to 254,011 cars. Stellantis, the parent group of Fiat, Peugeot and Opel, recorded a 2.6% decrease, while Renault registrations fell by 1.3%. Dacia registrations in the EU fell by 2.2% in May to 45,211 units.
In total, new car registrations in the first five months of the year in the EU increased by 4%, reaching around 4.75 million vehicles. The market share of fully electric cars with batteries increased from 15.3% to 20%.
The ACEA data also shows that Chinese brands are growing strongly in the EU market, with a 447.3% increase in Leapmotor registrations in May, a 239.6% increase for Chery and a 158.8% increase for BYD. However, in the first five months, the market shares of Chinese manufacturers remain manageable, reaching 2.6% for Geely and 2.1% for both SAIC Motor and BYD.
American electric car manufacturer Tesla has recovered from a sales decline in 2025 and achieved a market share of 1.9% in the first five months.