Car market in Europe grows by 1.9% but remains at 2024 levels as of January

Modest growth in registrations on the European car market. In May in Western Europe (EU+Efta+Uk) one million 113,194 cars were registered, an increase of 1.9% over May 2024, while the market has in fact remained at a standstill since the beginning of the year, up 0.1%. The car market in Europe is stagnating, points out the Centro Studi Promotor led by Gian Primo Quagliano, and is "at levels 19.7% lower than those of 2019, i.e. those before the crisis triggered by the pandemic".

Globally, it has taken time, but the market has regained its pre-Covid volumes, recording 7.5 % growth in 2024. Looking at the five largest markets in the European region, compared to 2024 the best situation appears to be Spain, where overall registrations are up 13.6%. After Spain, the country with the strongest recovery over 2024 is the United Kingdom, where registrations are growing by 2.8%. This is followed by Italy with a 0.5% drop, Germany (-2.4%) and France with a drop of 8.2%.

In Western Europe as a whole, registered electric cars reached a share of 17.1 per cent in the first five months of the year, up from 13.4 per cent in the first five months of 2024. In percentage terms, the increase in battery cars in the month was more than 27% on average, while plug-in cars increased by 47%. At the same time, the share of Chinese cars registered in Europe is growing, with Saic Motor, for example, achieving a 2.3 per cent market share, up between 20 and 30 per cent on the European market in the month and since the beginning of the year.

Volkswagen and Stellantis recorded a mirror-image result in the period, +3.4% for the Germans and -3% for the Franco-Italians. At Stellantis in particular, volumes were 8.4% lower than in 2024 since the beginning of the year, with the Peugeot, Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands, on the other hand, performing better than the market. The Renault Group maintained the pace, doing well in the month (+4.6%) and since January (+7%). Bmw and Mercedes maintained a positive trend while Volvo recorded heavy, double-digit declines. Against the backdrop of growing volumes of electric cars in Europe, Tesla continued to slide and lost a third of its volumes in the month and 40% since the beginning of the year.