Automotive Europe: Registrations on the Rise

The share of electric vehicles increased from 9.6% to 13.8%. In Italy, the car market grew by 23.1% in May.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has published very encouraging data on car sales in Europe. Statistics for the month of May cited by the news agency Askanews suggests the growth of the European car market. In May, the number of registrations increased by 18.5%, reaching almost a million cars sold. ACEA experts emphasize that it was “the tenth month of growth in a row”. Almost all major EU markets grew, especially in Italy (+23.1%), Germany (+19.2%), and France (+14.8%).

As far as the situation from the start of 2023 concerns, according to ACEA, “in the five months from January to May, the market grew by 18%, to 4.4 million units.” Compared to the same period in 2019, the year before the Covid pandemic, when 5.7 million vehicles were registered, 2023 sales are still down 23%. “There was double-digit growth throughout the five months in most markets, including the top four: Spain (+26.9%), Italy (+26.1%), France (+16.3%), and Germany (+10.2%),” ACEA noted.

Electric vehicles continue to gain momentum: the market share of battery electric vehicles (BEV) skyrocketed in May, rising from 9.6% to 13.8%, thanks to a 70.9% increase in sales that reached 129,847 vehicles. Among the highlighted markets are the Netherlands (+118.4%), Sweden (+82.6%), France (+48.7%), and Germany (+46.6%). In the period from January to May, BEV sales grew by 50% to 500,000 vehicles. In second place are hybrid vehicles that currently account for nearly a quarter of the market, with sales up 27.6% to 234,380 vehicles. On the other hand, registrations of “plug-in” cars went down slightly (-0.6%), with the market share decreasing from 8.8% to 7.4%.

Among conventional fuel vehicles, gasoline vehicles continue to grow in sales (+12.6%) and still hold the largest market share of 36.5%. In contrast, the diesel car market has shrunk by 2.9% in May despite strong performance in the two largest markets: Italy (+24.3%) and Germany (+3.6%). Diesel vehicles account for 14.3% of the EU market, compared to 17.4% in May 2022.

Finally, ACEA experts outlined a picture of the main European manufacturers. Among car groups, Volkswagen recorded a “sales increase of 19.5% to 243,013 units in May, which corresponds to a market share of 25.9%.” Sales of Stellantis are more or less stable (-0.2%) and amount to 179,296 units, while the market share decreased from 21.5% to 18.1% due to a drop in sales of Fiat (-22.1%), Opel (- 2.6%), and Citroen (-6.4%). Renault is confirmed as the third group with sales growth of 35.9% to 104,089 units, while the corresponding market share increased from 9.7% to 11.1%.