Sales of electric vehicles (EV) in the European Union (EU) shot up 71% in May, while new registrations increased for the tenth consecutive month, 18.5% more year-on-year, according to data published this Wednesday by the Area Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The rise in sales of electric and hybrid cars, which have both a battery and a combustion engine, is linked to the purchase aid launched by the different governments. Corporate purchases also contributed to this increase, as professionals favor low-emission vehicles for their car fleets. This increase in registrations must also be due to a more fluid supply of electric vehicles, with the gradual end of the semiconductor crisis.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) estimated that electric vehicles accounted for 13.8% of car sales in May, up from less than 10% a year earlier. According to ACEA, during the first five months of the year, Tesla, for example, registered a 164% increase in its registrations.
While gasoline-powered cars remained the best-selling models in May (36.5% of the market), models that run solely on fossil fuels accounted for less than 51% of sales. In 2015, diesel cars alone accounted for more than 50% of car sales in Europe.
Strong increase in sales of Renault and BMW
Sales of Europe’s most popular automaker Volkswagen rose 19.5% in May, while Renault and BMW posted sales increases of 35.9% and 34.3% respectively.
But Stellantis, which had to deal with logistical problems in delivering the cars, saw its sales fall 0.2%.
The number of new vehicle registrations in May in the EU, Great Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) increased by 18.2% to 1.12 million units year on year. The European Auto Index posted the second-best gain in the Stoxx 600 on Wednesday, with a gain of 0.64%.
Source: BFM TV
