Chinese automakers are driving a modest increase in vehicle registrations across European markets in May while also doubling their market share.
Data compiled by Jato Dynamics shows a 2.5% year-on-year increase in vehicle registrations last month across expanded Europe’s 28 markets.
A total of 1,107,517 new vehicles were registered, bringing the total of new vehicles registered from Jan. 1 through May 31 to 5,535,831 units, up 0.7% compared to the same period in 2024.
Chinese brands are seen as the clear drivers of growth for May, collectively recording 65,808 vehicles registered and accounting for 5.9% of total sales across the region.
This means Chinese car brands more than doubled their market share from the 2.9% recorded in the corresponding month in 2024.
“Despite the EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, its car brands continue to post strong growth across Europe,” says Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics.He points out that the Chinese brands’ switch of focus away from battery-electric vehicles, which face punitive EU tariffs, is contributing to the ongoing growth of vehicle sales.
“Their momentum is partly owing to their decision to push alternative powertrains, such as plug-in hybrids and full hybrids, to the region,” Munoz says of the Chinese marques.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen, Renault and BMW all performed well last month with volume increases of 3.3%, 4.6% and 6.3%, respectively.
Other strong performers in May included VW-owned Škoda, which occupied second place in the brand rankings, while Renault-owned Dacia saw a significant rise in volumes.
Cupra overtook its parent brand, SEAT, in the year-to-date brand rankings, recording a 30% uplift in registrations.
Elsewhere, China’s Jaecoo outsold Honda with 7,449 registrations while Omoda recorded 4,213 units, outselling Japan’s Mitsubishi.
Stellantis-backed Leapmotor registered 1,723 units but was unable to outperform its sister brands from Stellantis like DS.
Lancia posted a year-on-year decrease of 80%. The latter was also outperformed by Ebro, the revived Spanish brand that produces vehicles in partnership with China’s Chery.
Maserati recorded a decline of 40%, while registrations by Lotus and Abarth fell 48% and 78%, respectively. Ineos outsold Jaguar, which registered just 86 units.
In terms of models, the Renault Clio led the model rankings in May with a volume increase of nearly 12%. Despite a 10% decline in sales, the Dacia secured second place in the ranking by model and continues to lead the year-to-date rankings. The Volkswagen Tiguan and Dacia Duster also performed well in May, while the Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen T-Roc posted decreases of 18% and 10%, respectively.
