Car market in the EU: Rising registrations and Tesla's decline

Things are Going Better! The EU Car Market Grew Again in May—Tesla Continues to Suffer

2025-06-26 Source: dpa | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

According to dpa, the car market in the European Union recorded an increase in May for the second month in a row.

The European car manufacturers' association Acea has taken a close look at the business situation up to May. According to the report, combustion engines are weakening and e-cars and hybrid vehicles are in demand. Only Tesla (Model Y in the picture) continues to look at the tail lights of the others.(Image: Tesla) — The European car manufacturers' association Acea has taken a close look at the business situation up to May. According to the report, combustion engines are weakening and e-cars and hybrid vehicles are in demand. Only Tesla (Model Y in the picture) continues to look at the tail lights of the others.
(Image: Tesla)

New registrations in the EU rose by 1.6 percent year-on-year to 926,582 cars, according to the European manufacturers' association Acea in Brussels. However, after a weak start to the year, there was still a 0.6 percent decline in the first five months. The growth was driven by electric cars and hybrid vehicles, while pure petrol and diesel cars sold less well, as the analysis shows. Only Tesla suffered another sharp decline. In the actual merry month of May, 8,729 Teslas were newly registered in the EU, which was over 40 percent fewer than a year earlier. Looking at the first five months, the decline for the company owned by US billionaire Elon Musk was a good 45 percent.

Tesla's Reasons do not fit the Overall Situation

Experts believe that the cause of Tesla's plight may be a reaction to Musk's political involvement alongside US President Donald Trump. Tesla, on the other hand, points out that it refreshed its important Model Y at the beginning of the year, which has reduced sales in the meantime. Overall, however, there can be no talk of a decline in demand in this segment. In May, almost 142,800 purely battery-electric cars were newly registered in the EU (an increase of 25 percent). And in the first five months, growth was even higher at a good 26 percent. The major German car manufacturers also recorded growth. The Volkswagen Group recorded an increase of 4.8 percent in May (just under 263,800 new registrations), BMW grew by 8.1 percent (around 63,200 cars) and Mercedes-Benz achieved an increase of 3.9 percent (around 47,900 vehicles).

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