Sales of electric vehicles rose significantly in May and now account for 13.8% of European sales, up from less than 10% in May 2022, according to data released Wednesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

Sales of electric cars have increased sharply in the Netherlands, Sweden, France and Germany, and US company Tesla now has 2.6% of the market.

At the end of March, the EU approved a plan to phase out the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by 2035, and gasoline cars are in decline, although they still account for the majority of new registrations (36.5%).

In second place are hybrid vehicles, which now account for 25% of sales (1.8 points more than the previous year).

Sales of plug-in hybrid cars (which can be connected to a socket or a terminal) continued to fall (-0.6%), penalized by Germany, which cut subsidies for this type of engine.

Volkswagen, ousted leader / Dacia boosts Renault sales

Overall, new car registrations in Europe rose for the tenth consecutive month in May, up +18.5%, but still almost a quarter lower than before the Covid crisis.

Last month, almost a million new cars appeared on the roads of the countries of the European Union.

The European automotive market has returned to steady growth since August 2022, when the Covid-19 crisis combined with shortages of spare parts, including critical electronic components, dealt it a heavy blow.

In the first five months of 2023, the market grew by 18%, thanks in particular to Spain (+26.9%) and Italy (+26.1%).

Since the beginning of the year, Volkswagen has significantly strengthened its position as the largest car seller in Europe, commanding more than 26.1% of the market (+1.2 points year-on-year), selling more than 1.1 million vehicles, helped by the dynamism of the Czech brand Skoda and Spanish sports Cupra cars.

The German giant is followed by Franco-Italian-American Stellantis (18.9% of the market, down 1.7 points year-on-year), whose Alfa Romeo brand grew by 133.8% year-on-year thanks to new SUVs.

The French from Renault hold 11% of the European market (an increase of 1 point over the year) thanks to the dynamism of the inexpensive Dacia line, the volume of which increased by 42.9% in the first five months of the year.

Hyundai-Kia and Toyota slowed growth to 8.8% and 6.9%, respectively.