Tesla leads EV advance as Europe new-car sales jump 18% in May

European new-car registrations increased 18 percent in May, as demand for electric cars outpaced the broader market.

Registrations in the EU, EFTA and U.K. markets were 1.12 million vehicles compared with 948,815 in the same month last year, according to data from industry association ACEA.

The increase was the 10th consecutive month of rises.

Sales of battery-electric vehicles jumped 66 percent to 170,389 as automakers benefited from improved supply of components.

Among major markets, Italy and Germany led the overall sales rise of all types of vehicles with gains of 23 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

Volkswagen Group, Europe’s No. 1 automaker, saw sales rise 20 percent. Sales at No. 2, Stellantis, increased by 0.5 percent.

Tesla’s registrations for the month were 29,000 for a 2.6 percent market share, up from 0.2 percent in May last year.

The automaker’s plant near Berlin is supplying Model Y cars to the European market and the company has launched aggressive price cuts.

Automakers are building more vehicles after longstanding supply-chain problems finally started to ease. After battling to keep production lines running, attention has shifted to consumers buckling under sharply higher living costs led by soaring energy prices.

Germany’s economy shrank during the winter months with household spending dropping on food, beverages and apparel. There are further signs of a cool down, with chemical output in Europe’s largest economy remaining a fifth below historical levels.

Almost 14 of the new cars registered in the first five months were battery-electric vehicles, with sales climbing more than 40 percent to just over 730,000 units.

• Download the PDF for May and five-month sales by auto group and brand.
   

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report