The main driver of demand in the region was Central European countries, where sales rose by 6.2% last month. At the same time, the five key Western European markets showed mixed dynamics: Spain (-7.3%), the UK (-4.6%), and Italy (-1.2%) saw a decline, while Germany (+9.1%) and France (+1.2%) demonstrated growth.
The leader among national EU markets in May remains Germany, where 332,962 new cars were sold.
Italy holds the second position in the ranking, with 197,307 cars sold during the month.
France closes the top three with 193,948 passenger cars sold.
Among European automakers, VW Group still occupies the first line, having sold 345,296 vehicles in EU markets during the month, which is 2.1% less than in May last year.
In second place is PSA Group, which sold 233,419 cars — this is 4.3% higher than the result of a year ago.
The third figure belongs to RENAULT Group — 155,784 units (a decrease of 3.7%).
Overall, in the first five months of 2019, demand for new cars in the European Union decreased by 2.1% — a total of 6.7 million cars were registered. With the exception of Germany (+1.7%), all five major EU markets showed a slight decline this year.
