Sales of new cars increased by 173 thousand in May compared to last year. In the first five months of the year, the growth reached 17.4% yoy . The smallest decline was seen in Croatia (74.3%) while sales in Hungary dropped the most (-11.3%). Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in May 2023 in Europe, some 289 thousand vehicles representing 25.8% of the European market.
In May, the EU car market saw a significant increase marking the tenth consecutive month of growth. In the first five months of the year, the EU car market grew by 18%, to 4.4 mil registered cars. In spite of the growth, year-to-date sales are still 23% lower compared to the same month in 2019. Share of battery electric cars saw a substantial increase from 9.6% to 13.8% in May.
In May, most vehicles (247 thousand) were sold in Germany (up 19.2% yoy), followed by Italy (149 thousand, up 23.1%), France with 146 thousand cars (up 14.8%), 145 thousand new vehicles were registered in the United Kingdom (up 16.7%) and 92.0 thousand in Spain (up 8.29%). The five largest countries accounted for 61.3% of total new vehicles registered in May 2023.
In relative terms, sales in Croatia (+74.3%) and Portugal (+55.4%) declined the least compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Hungary and Slovenia dropped the most (-11.3% and 1.82% yoy), in May 2023, according to ACEA.
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in May 2023 in Europe, some 289 thousand vehicles representing 25.8% of the European market. Sales of Stellantis amounted to 191 thousand vehicles (or 17.0% of the market) while Renault Group and Hyundai Group held 9.90% and 8.70% of the European market in May. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 69.0% of all new cars in May.
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