EU new-car sales rise further in May

May added another month of growth to the EU new‑car market, with registrations reaching 955,013 units, a 3.2% rise over the same month last year, according to the latest ACEA figures.

Overall performance and regional split

Twenty of the 27 member states recorded higher sales, but the picture was uneven. Germany, the bloc’s biggest market, barely moved, posting just 0.1% growth after a calendar with fewer working days. Spain slipped 0.8%, breaking a streak of monthly gains, while France posted a 3.7% rise.

Across the first five months of 2026, total new‑car registrations hit 4,748,801, lifting the year‑to‑date total by 4%.

Battery‑electric surge

Poland was an outlier, reporting a 28.5% drop in BEV deliveries in May, even as its cumulative five‑month BEV registrations rose 28.2%.

Plug‑in hybrids keep pace

Plug‑in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) also grew, with 98,553 units registered in May, a 12.2% year‑on‑year increase. Their market share rose to 10.3%, up a comparable margin from a year earlier. Cumulatively, PHEVs reached 460,217 registrations in the first five months, representing a 9.7% share of the market.

Combined, BEVs and PHEVs totaled 301,970 new EVs in May, outpacing the 279,865 petrol and diesel vehicles combined. EVs therefore held a 31.6% market share, 2.3 percentage points ahead of internal‑combustion engine (ICE) models.

Hybrid dominance but waning share

Hybrids, both mild and full, remained the most common powertrain, with 345,427 units registered in May, a 9.7% year‑on‑year gain. Their share rose to 36.2%, up 2.2 points, but the trend since February shows a gradual slide from 38.7% to the current level.

Industry analysts note that the hybrid segment may be reaching a plateau as consumers shift toward pure electric options, a view echoed by a senior analyst at the International Energy Agency, who cautioned that policy incentives could accelerate the transition.

Petrol and diesel decline

Petrol‑powered registrations fell 20.1% year‑on‑year in May, with 210,383 new vehicles, yet the fuel still captured a 22% share, a slight edge over BEVs. From January to May, petrol sales totaled 1,065,071, down 18.2% and slipping to a 22.4% market share.

Diesel volumes dropped 19% in May, with 69,482 registrations, leaving the segment with a 7.3% share. Over the first five months, diesel sales reached 361,971, a 16.6% decline, and a 7.6% share of the market.

When combined, ICE vehicles (petrol plus diesel) accounted for 1,427,042 registrations in the first five months, a 17.8% drop from a year earlier, and held a 30.1% share, just 0.4 points ahead of EVs.