European car registrations rise 3.2% in May 2026

In May 2026 the European Union recorded 955,013 new car registrations, a 3.2 % increase over the same month in 2025. When the wider European market – including the United Kingdom and the EFTA members – is taken into account, registrations rose to 1.15 million, up 3.6 %. Cumulatively, January‑May registrations reached 4.748 million in the EU, a 4 % year‑on‑year gain.

Electrified vehicles continued to dominate the growth. Battery‑electric cars rose 42.9 % YoY and captured about 21 % of the EU market, while plug‑in hybrids grew 12.2 % and conventional hybrids 9.7 %. Overall, electrified models (BEV, PHEV and hybrid) accounted for 67.8 % of new registrations in May.

Italy posted the strongest national increase, with a 7.6 % rise and 150,043 registrations, followed by the United Kingdom (+7.1 %) and France (+3.7 %). Germany remained flat (+0.1 %) and Spain slipped 0.8 %. Roberto Vavassori, president of ANFIA, noted that the market “closed May with a +3.2 % increase, marking the fourth consecutive positive variation of the year.”