Two in five best-selling EVs in Europe in May from China

European battery electric vehicle (BEV) demand fell by 11% in May 2024, while 19% of BEVs registered were made in China.

One of them – MG – outsold Tesla, says JATO Dynamics’ data for 28 European markets.

It says European new passenger car registrations totalled 1,087,699 units in May 2024 – a 2.5% decline compared with the same month last year.

However, registrations remained higher than May 2022 and 2021, when total units amounted to 943,405 and 1,082,934 respectively, says JATO Dynamics.

“Since the global pandemic, the European car market has only recovered to 75%-80% of its original size,” says JATO Dynamics global analyst Felipe Munoz.

 “As a result, many factories across Europe are not operating at full capacity, giving Chinese OEMs a unique opportunity to sell across Europe while avoiding tariffs.”

“This reduction is partly explained by a 10% decline in BEV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations which dropped from 250,530 in May 2023, to 226,665 in May 2024.”

Munoz says BEVs saw the largest decline in year-on-year registrations, falling 11% to 151,237 units, while PHEVs experienced a 7% decrease.

“This negative result comes as a result of high BEV and PHEV prices – with these cars still unaffordable for the masses,” he says.

Some BEV models continued to perform well last month, for instance BMW continued to gain traction with its iX1, as well as the new i5 and iX2, says Munoz.

The brand’s BEV volume was about 1.6 times higher than all electric models registered by Audi or Mercedes, he says.

Volvo claimed third place among the top-selling BEVs both in May and year-to-date with the EX30.

In May 2024 registrations of Chinese-made BEVs rose by 25% year-on-year to reach almost 28,000 units, says Munoz.

“The Volvo EX30 is just one example of a China-made vehicle that is doing extremely well across Europe.”

In contrast, EVs manufactured outside of China saw a 16% decline in registrations year-on-year, says Munoz, adding the market share of Chinese-made BEVs jumped from 13.2% to 18.5% year-on-year.

“It’s striking that two Chinese models secured a place in Europe’s top five best-selling BEVs for May. This increase in registrations likely comes in anticipation of the impending European Commission tariffs.”

Volvo, BYD, and Smart saw the most significant increases in BEV registrations, while MG, BMW, Dacia, and Polestar all lost ground, says Munoz.

 MG’s internal combustion engine (ICE) offering outperformed its BEVs, with volume increasing by 47% in May, and by 61% since the start of the year.

Munoz says; “MG is turning its attention to non-electric cars to maintain ground in Europe. This is likely a response to the European Commission’s probe and incoming tariffs. For instance, in January-May 2023 it registered almost an equal number of electric and combustion cars. A year on, its volume of ICE cars is nearly double that of its BEV registrations.”

 The Volkswagen Golf registered 20,000 units in May, becoming the second most-registered car behind the Volkswagen T-Roc.

The Golf’s volume increased by 30%, driven by higher fleet and business registrations, securing second place in the overall model ranking year-to-date.

Other notable models in May 2024 included the Citroen C3, supported by deals on its previous generation, says JATO Dynamics

The Cupra/Seat Leon, Toyota RAV4, Seat Ibiza, Opel/Vauxhall Astra, and Jeep Avenger also posted strong year-on-year growth.

Among new models, the Volvo EX30 performed well in May, with more than 7500 units registered. Other notable players include the Lexus LBX with at least 2100 units; the BMW i5 with almost 2000 units; the new Renault Scenic with 1631 units; and the Mercedes CLE with 1581 units. Fiat registered 1515 units of the 600; Volkswagen registered 1239 units of the ID.7; BMW registered 1144 units of the iX2; the Mitsubishi Colt registered 1058 units; and the Renault Rafale and Omoda 5 registered 1003 and 797 respectively.