The gradual recovery in new passenger car registrations across Europe continued in May, rising by 1.6% to 926,582 units, largely driven by electric and hybrid vehicle sales.
Among the major national markets, Spain recorded the strongest growth at +18.6%, followed by Germany at +1.2%. Italy remained virtually unchanged (-0.1%, with 139,434 registrations in total), while France slowed markedly (-12.3%).
From January to May, the European car market contracted by 0.6%, with approximately 4.6 million new cars registered in the EU. France and Germany were down by 8.2% and 2.4% respectively; Italy also fell by 0.5% (722,704 units), whereas Spain bucked the trend with a +13.6% increase.
On the fuel and powertrain front, hybrids (both conventional and plug-in) continued to expand, reaching a combined market share of over 43%, while pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 15.4%; the remaining part comprised petrol and diesel models.