European car market on the rise: Chinese manufacturers double their market share in May 2026
New car registrations were up 3.6% in May and 4.5% year-to-date across the EU, the UK and EFTA
The recovery in sales volumes on the European car market continues, a trend driven largely, in May, by the brilliant performance of Chinese car manufacturers, whilst the major European car manufacturers are slowing down. Car registrations in the EU, including the UK and EFTA, rose by 3.6% over the month, and by 4.5% when considering the first five months of the year, according to ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, describing it as “an excellent start to the year in a context characterised by persistent geopolitical tensions that are weighing on the outlook”.
The market has in fact continued to benefit from strong consumer demand for electrified technologies, with sales of fully electric vehicles up by 40% compared with May 2025 and by over 30% in the January–May period. During the month, electric cars achieved a market share of 20%, partly thanks to tax breaks and incentives in various countries.
In this context, however, the top three European automotive groups – Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault – with Hyundai in fourth place in the rankings – recorded a negative performance for the month, underperforming the market, which is instead driven by the sales volumes achieved by Chinese manufacturers, showing strong growth both for the month and year-to-date.
Taken together, Chinese carmakers held a market share of 12 per cent in May 2026 – a figure that had almost doubled over the course of a year – with Chery, in particular, tripling its share from 0.7 to 2.4, its presence on the European market, whilst BYD has overtaken SAIC Motor in terms of volume and the Geely Group has confirmed its position as the leading Chinese group in Europe, with a share of 3.3% for the month and 3% for the period.
Stellantis has maintained a 5.3% year-to-date growth trend in registrations despite the slowdown in May; this figure excludes Leapmotor’s registrations, which alone account for almost 120,000 cars registered by the Group since the start of the year. Among the long-established brands, Fiat continues to make up ground in May (+20.6%) and year-to-date (+27.6%). Citroën, Opel and Lancia have also performed well over the first five months.
