Europe: Plug-In Car Sales In May 2023 Exceeded 250,000

The European passenger car market expanded by some 18 percent year-over-year, reaching close to 1.1 million new registrations in May.

The plug-in electric car segment expands even faster, thanks to the booming all-electric segment.

According to EV Volumes data, shared by Jose Pontes, in May over 253,000 new plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe, which is roughly 38 percent more than a year ago. That's also 23 percent of the total volume.

It's worth paying attention to the battery-electric car segment because in this category the year-over-year growth amounted to 67 percent (some 165,000 and 15 percent of the market). Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid car registrations barely increased (by 1 percent year-over-year).

New plug-in car registrations:

• BEVs: *165,500 (up 67% year-over-year) and 15% share
• PHEVs: *88,300 (up 1% year-over-year) and 8% share
• Total: 253,779 (up 38% year-over-year) and 23% share

* estimated from the market share

Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Europe – May 2023

So far this year, more than 1.1 million passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe, which is about 21 percent of the total market.

New plug-in car registrations year-to-date:

• BEVs: about *0.72 million and 14% share
• PHEVs: about *0.39 million and 7% share
• Total: 1,123,149 (up 24% year-over-year) and 21% share

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* estimated from the market share

For reference, in 2022, more than 2.6 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe (about 23 percent of the total volume).

Top Plug-In Models

The Tesla Model Y remains the best-selling plug-in model in Europe in May (21,967 registrations) and it has held this top spot for the seventh consecutive month.

No other BEV is even close, although the improving sales of the Volkswagen ID.4 enabled it to regain second position (8,600 registrations in May). We must also remember that the trio of MEB-based electric crossover/SUV (Volkswagen ID.4, Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq iV noted 20,859 units total).

Results last month:

1. Tesla Model Y - 21,967
2. Volkswagen ID.4 - 8,600
3. Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV) - 8,233
4. MG 4 - 6,535
5. Fiat 500 electric - 6,347
6. Skoda Enyaq iV - 6,302
7. Tesla Model 3 - 6,265
8. Audi Q4 e-tron - 5,957
9. Volkswagen ID.3 - 5,609
10. BMW i4 - 4,572

Over the first five months, the Tesla Model Y's advantage over the rest of the pack increased to some 70,000 units. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen ID.4 is now the third most popular model, while the Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID.3 switched positions.

Results year-to-date:

1. Tesla Model Y - 105,307
2. Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV) - 35,226
3. Volkswagen ID.4 - 31,481
4. Tesla Model 3 - 28,968
5. Volkswagen ID.3 - 28,959
6. Audi Q4 e-tron - 26,371
7. Fiat 500 electric - 24,615
8. MG 4 - 23,539
9. Skoda Enyaq iV - 23,142
10. Dacia Spring - 22,142

Top Brands And Automotive Groups

Tesla remains the most popular plug-in car brand in Europe, by registration volume, but as an automotive group, it's now slightly behind Stellantis (when counting BEVs and PHEVs together).

Top plug-in brands (share year-to-date):

• Tesla - 12.4%
• Volkswagen - 8.3%
• BMW - 7.9%
• Mercedes-Benz - 7.7%
• Volvo - 6.5%
• Audi - 5.3%
• Peugeot - 4.7%

Top plug-in automotive groups (share year-to-date):

• Volkswagen Group - 19.8% share (Volkswagen brand at 8.3%)
• Stellantis - 13.9%
• Tesla - 12.4%
• BMW Group - 9.5% share (BMW brand at 7.7%)
• Geely–Volvo - 9.3%
• Mercedes-Benz Group - 8.6% (Mercedes-Benz brand at 7.7%)

See also

UK: Plug-In Car Sales Reached 25% Market Share In June 2023

Norway: Plug-In Car Sales Exceeded 90% Share In June 2023

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