ROME (Reuters) – Car registrations in Europe fell in May, with a decline in three of the four main markets of Italy, Germany and France, while they grew in Great Britain and Spain.
In the EU, EFTA countries and Great Britain, registrations decreased by 2.6% on an annual basis, stopping below 1.1 million vehicles, according to Acea calculations (BIT:).
Great Britain recorded an increase of 1.7% which compares with the decline of 3 percentage points in the European Union countries and -10.6% in the EFTA countries.
However, in the first five months of the year, registrations in the EU, EFTA and Great Britain countries overall grew by 4.6%.
The Stellantis Group (BIT:), which includes brands among others Fiat Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Opel/Vauxhall, Citroen and DS, recorded an 8.7% decline in May registrations year-on-year, although market share increased to 15.9% compared to 15, 4% in April.
Registrations of cars with electric batteries also in the EU-EFTA-UK area decreased last month by 10.8% compared to May 2023, stopping at 151,968 units.
In electric, France recorded an increase of 5.4% (23,892 battery vehicles), while Italy and Germany saw a decline of 18.3% (5,052 vehicles) and 30.6% (29,708 vehicles) respectively .
In the EU the market share is decreasing to 12.5% compared to 13.8% last year, according to Acea data.
(Matteo Negri, editing by Francesca Piscioneri)
