EU May New Car Registrations Slip as Most Carmakers Post Declines; EV Sales Fall

By David Sachs

New car registrations in the European Union fell in May on weakness in the bloc's leading economies, with most EU carmakers posting declines.

Registrations, which reflect sales, dropped 3% on year to about 911,700 as Germany, France and Italy recorded decreases, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. Italy registrations dropped 6.6%, Germany's fell 4.3% and France's slipped 2.9%.

Spanish registrations, meanwhile, rose 3.4%, said the industry group, known as the ACEA.

Volkswagen's registrations in the EU rose 1.6%--the sole EU carmaker to post an increase outside of Geely-owned Volvo Car, according to the ACEA. BMW, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Renault posted drops of 18%, 6.9%, 3.6% and 5.4%, respectively.

Fully-electric vehicle registrations fell 12% to about 114,300, reflecting a long-expected slowdown, with Germany sales diving 31%. Fully-electric cars comprised 12.5% of all sales, a smaller chunk than a year prior, when the market share was 13.8%.

France and Belgium were the only countries to record growth in the pure EV segment, the ACEA said.

Traditional hybrid vehicles, which rely primarily on gas but also use electricity, posted a 16.2% growth rate and grabbed nearly 30% of the market--up from 25% the previous May, ACEA said. Registrations of plug-in hybrids and gas-burning cars each fell.

Write to David Sachs at david.sachs@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 20, 2024 02:14 ET (06:14 GMT)

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