Brussels: The European passenger car market experienced a 1.9% increase in May compared to the same period last year, with 1.12 million new automobile registrations.

According to Anadolu Agency, this growth highlights the continuing shift towards electric vehicles across Europe.

Among the EU, UK, and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) regions, Spain led the charge with an 18.6% increase in new car registrations. The Netherlands followed with a 7.3% rise, the UK with a 1.6% increase, and Germany with a 1.2% uptick. Conversely, France and Italy reported declines of 12.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Electric vehicles were a significant factor in this market expansion. Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales saw a substantial surge of 27.2% year-on-year in May, with 193,493 units sold, representing 15.4% of all new car sales. Germany marked a 44.9% increase in BEV sales, while Spain and Poland recorded even higher gains of 104.1% and 118.3%, respectively.

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) also played a crucial role, making up 35.1% of the EU market in May. Registrations of HEVs rose by 14.2% to 379,150 units. Additionally, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) experienced significant growth, with sales rising 46.1% to 108,147 units.

Traditional internal combustion engine vehicles faced declines during this period. Petrol car registrations fell by 19.5%, resulting in a market share of 28.6%. Diesel car registrations experienced an even more pronounced drop, plummeting by 27.6% and reducing their market share to 9.5% in May, with double-digit declines observed in most European markets.