ANKARA
The European passenger car market expanded 18.5% year-on-year in May, marking the 10th consecutive month of growth, an industry group revealed on Wednesday.
Passenger car registrations in the EU reached 938,950 units last month, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said in a statement.
All key EU markets positively contributed to the growth, with solid gains seen in Italy (23.1%), Germany (19.1%) and France (14.8%).
New registrations of battery electric cars in the EU27 surged 70.9% from the prior year to 129,847 units, bringing its market share to 13.8% in May.
Hybrid electric cars maintained their growth momentum, as sales jumped 27.6% to 234,380 units in the same period.
Hybrid electric cars are now the second-most popular choice for new car buyers, accounting for almost a quarter of the market. However, petrol cars still have the largest share at 36.5%.
In the January-May period, car registrations in the EU advanced 18% to 4.4 million.
Despite the strong upturn, the five-month sales were 23% lower compared to the same period in 2019, when 5.7 million units were registered.
Most markets saw double-digit gains in the first five months of this year, including the four largest: Spain (26.9%), Italy (26.1%), France (16.3%), and Germany (10.2%).
