In May 2018, sales of passenger cars in Europe were virtually flat at +0,8% after an almost 10% gain in April. A total of just over 1,4 million vehicles were sold in this period, bringing the year-to-date total to just over 7 million in five months, an increase of 2,4%. The major EU markets showed very diverse results, with Spain (+7,2%) and the United Kingdom (+3,4%) in the black, while Germany (‐5,8%) and Italy (‐2,8%) saw their demand for cars decline in May. Sales in France (+0,1%) were flat. Fastest growing markets were Romania (+43,3%), Bulgaria (+34,6%) and Lithania (+32,6%), the only three markets posting growth of more than 17,5%. In the negative was most notably Iceland (-25,7%), but also Norway (-8%), Czech Republic (-4,8%), Luxembourg (-3,1%) and Switzerland (-2,1%).
Crossover and SUVs were once again the only segment to grow (+22,6%) with their share up to a new record of 34,5% of the overall European market, while car models (hatchbacks, sedans, station wagons, coupes and convertibles) were down 6,4% to 56,8% of the market, a new low once more and MPVs continued their decline at -18,6%% to 8,7% of the market.
In the five months of 2018, European car sales are up 2,4% as mentioned above, with Spain (+10,6%) as the biggest gainer among major markets, followed by France (+3,5%) and Germany (+2,6%) and with stable sales in Italy (-0,3%) while the UK (‐6,8%) is still a drag on the whole market. Crossover sales are up 21,6% in the first four months, while car models lost 3,3% and MPVs lost 18,4%.
Among manufacturers, Volkswagen Group is the big winner for the second month running, and with its 13.300 additional sales, it’s the only manufacturer to add more than 5.000 sales to its May volume. Hyundai-Kia and Renault-Nissan Group follow at a distance. In relative terms, SAIC is the only manufacturer to more than double up, while Subaru and Tesla Motors grow by low double digits. The two German luxury giants Daimler and BMW Group are the biggest losers in Europe in May, each losing more than 5.000 sales on the same month in 2017, while PSA is also back in the red after being a big gainer in April. Aston Martin is the fastest declining manufacturer at -18,8% with General Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra also down by low double digits.
At brand level, Volkswagen and Jeep are the big winners, each adding more than 9.000 sales with Dacia not far behind. For Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, the success of Jeep is outweighed by the loss of its namesake brand Fiat, down by almost 9.400 sales. Mercedes-Benz and Nissan also lose about 6.500 sales on May 2017. Relatively, DR Motor is the big winner in May with sales up almost fourfold thanks to the DR4 crossover, Bugatti tripling its volume from 2 to 6 deliveries and Mahindra more than doubling thanks to the introduction of the small KUV100 crossover. Infiniti loses more than half of its sales and is the fastest declining brand in Europe for the fourth consecutive month, ahead of Bentley and Maserati.
May winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Volkswagen Group | 13.327 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | Daimler AG | -6.845 | |
| Hyundai-Kia | 4.848 | BMW Group | -5.276 | |||
| Renault-Nissan | 4.665 | PSA | -2.690 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | SAIC | 105,3% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Aston Martin | -18,8% | |
| Subaru Corp. | 16,7% | General Motors | -12,5% | |||
| Tesla Motors | 11,0% | Mahindra & Mahindra | -10,1% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Volkswagen | 9.752 | Brand biggest volume lost | Fiat | -9.396 | |
| Jeep | 9.083 | Mercedes-Benz | -6.559 | |||
| Dacia | 8.406 | Nissan | -6.497 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | DR | 287,1% | Brand biggest % lost | Infiniti | -55,1% | |
| Bugatti | 200,0% | Bentley | -37,5% | |||
| Mahindra | 123,3% | Maserati | -19,3% |
Year-to-date, VW Group naturally consolidates its position as the big gainer among manufacturers, crossing the 100.000 additional sales mark, while for the rest only Hyundai-Kia and Renault-Nissan manage to grow by more than 20.000 sales. When looking at the losers, BMW and Daimler are now the top losers with each more than 10.000 fewer deliveries than in the first five months of 2017, with FCA not far behind. At brand level, Fiat out-loses Opel/Vauxhall ahead of Nissan.
January – May winners and losers
| Manufacturer biggest volume increase | Volkswagen Group | 103.057 | Manufacturer biggest volume lost | BMW Group | -10.491 | |
| Hyundai-Kia | 37.113 | Daimler AG | -10.161 | |||
| Renault-Nissan | 20.327 | Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles | -9.723 | |||
| Manufacturer biggest % increase | SAIC | 103,3% | Manufacturer biggest % lost | Aston Martin | -32,4% | |
| Hyundai-Kia | 8,9% | Mahindra & Mahindra | -10,4% | |||
| Suzuki | 8,4% | Tata Motors | -7,0% | |||
| Brand biggest volume increase | Volkswagen | 57.113 | Brand biggest volume lost | Fiat | -33.330 | |
| Peugeot | 37.670 | Opel/Vauxhall | -29.358 | |||
| Dacia | 35.862 | Nissan | -21.118 | |||
| Brand biggest % increase | Dodge | 181,4% | Brand biggest % lost | Infiniti | -57,1% | |
| Bugatti | 140,0% | Aston Martin | -32,4% | |||
| SAIC | 103,3% | Bentley | -29,9% |
Volkswagen is the biggest winner in the brands top-12 with only Peugeot and Renault also showing gains greater than 1%, while besides Fiat the three German luxury brands are struggling. Outside of the top-12 Dacia and Seat continue to outperform the market while Nissan is the biggest loser of the top-35. Jeep almost doubles up as sister brand Alfa Romeo continues to rebound but still at relatively modest volumes. DS has finally refound the path to growth thanks to its latest crossover launch.
May brands ranking
| Brand | May 2018 | May 2017 | change | YTD rank | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 169.184 | 159.432 | 6,1% | 1 |
| 2 | Renault | 106.979 | 103.983 | 2,9% | 2 |
| 3 | Ford | 91.449 | 90.991 | 0,5% | 3 |
| 4 | Peugeot | 86.113 | 83.348 | 3,3% | 4 |
| 5 | Opel/Vauxhall | 81.029 | 85.167 | -4,9% | 5 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz | 77.184 | 83.743 | -7,8% | 6 |
| 7 | Fiat | 75.371 | 84.767 | -11,1% | 8 |
| 8 | Audi | 71.905 | 75.951 | -5,3% | 7 |
| 9 | BMW | 66.092 | 71.356 | -7,4% | 9 |
| 10 | Skoda | 65.406 | 66.572 | -1,8% | 10 |
| 11 | Toyota | 59.301 | 58.721 | 1,0% | 11 |
| 12 | Citroën | 53.348 | 55.338 | -3,6% | 12 |
| 13 | Dacia | 53.121 | 44.715 | 18,8% | 15 |
| 14 | Hyundai | 46.745 | 45.208 | 3,4% | 14 |
| 15 | Kia | 43.478 | 40.167 | 8,2% | 16 |
| 16 | Seat | 42.681 | 34.305 | 24,4% | 17 |
| 17 | Nissan | 40.391 | 46.888 | -13,9% | 13 |
| 18 | Volvo | 25.916 | 26.521 | -2,3% | 18 |
| 19 | Suzuki | 22.279 | 20.637 | 8,0% | 19 |
| 20 | Mini | 18.798 | 18.839 | -0,2% | 21 |
| 21 | Jeep | 18.279 | 9.196 | 98,8% | 22 |
| 22 | Mazda | 17.445 | 18.199 | -4,1% | 20 |
| 23 | Land Rover | 12.660 | 13.074 | -3,2% | 23 |
| 24 | Honda | 11.059 | 10.697 | 3,4% | 24 |
| 25 | Mitsubishi | 10.740 | 10.384 | 3,4% | 25 |
| 26 | Smart | 9.382 | 9.668 | -3,0% | 27 |
| 27 | Alfa Romeo | 9.162 | 8.266 | 10,8% | 26 |
| 28 | Porsche | 8.047 | 7.569 | 6,3% | 28 |
| 29 | Jaguar | 6.964 | 6.024 | 15,6% | 29 |
| 30 | Lancia | 5.073 | 5.321 | -4,7% | 30 |
| 31 | DS | 4.468 | 3.795 | 17,7% | 31 |
| 32 | Lexus | 3.921 | 3.376 | 16,1% | 32 |
| 33 | Subaru | 3.339 | 2.861 | 16,7% | 33 |
| 34 | Tesla | 1.842 | 1.659 | 11,0% | 34 |
| 35 | SSangYong | 1.413 | 1.616 | -12,6% | 35 |
| 36 | SAIC MG | 811 | 395 | 105,3% | 37 |
| 37 | Maserati | 651 | 807 | -19,3% | 36 |
| 38 | Lada | 559 | 469 | 19,2% | 39 |
| 39 | Infiniti | 558 | 1.244 | -55,1% | 38 |
| 40 | Ferrari | 354 | 309 | 14,6% | 40 |
| 41 | Chevrolet | 281 | 319 | -11,9% | 42 |
| 42 | Aston Martin | 216 | 266 | -18,8% | 43 |
| 43 | Bentley | 195 | 312 | -37,5% | 41 |
| 44 | Alpine | 191 | 0 | New | 46 |
| 45 | Lamborghini | 146 | 105 | 39,0% | 44 |
| 46 | DR | 120 | 31 | 287,1% | 48 |
| 47 | Dodge | 118 | 64 | 84,4% | 45 |
| 48 | Rolls Royce | 87 | 58 | 50,0% | 49 |
| 49 | Cadillac | 80 | 94 | -14,9% | 47 |
| 50 | Mahindra | 67 | 30 | 123,3% | 51 |
| 51 | Lotus | 61 | 67 | -9,0% | 50 |
| 52 | Chrysler | 13 | 11 | 18,2% | 53 |
| 53 | Geely | 12 | 15 | -20,0% | 52 |
| 54 | Bugatti | 6 | 2 | 200,0% | 54 |
In the Year-to-date ranking, Renault has finally reclaimed the #2 spot from Ford as expected. Peugeot is the big winner in the top-10, followed by Skoda and Volkswagen, with Renault is the only other brand in the top-10 to grow its volume in the first five months of 2018. Fiat and Opel/Vauxhall are the big losers in the top-10 even though Fiat moves up one spot in May, leapfrogging BMW. Outside of the top-10, Dacia moves back ahead of Kia into the top-15 and Jeep moves past Land Rover into #22.
January – May brands ranking
| Brand | 2018 | 2017 | change | 2018 share | 2017 rank | |
| 1 | Volkswagen | 792.178 | 735.065 | 7,8% | 11,3% | 1 |
| 2 | Renault | 487.080 | 483.855 | 0,7% | 6,9% | 3 |
| 3 | Ford | 479.213 | 484.371 | -1,1% | 6,8% | 2 |
| 4 | Peugeot | 440.218 | 402.548 | 9,4% | 6,3% | 5 |
| 5 | Opel/Vauxhall | 399.987 | 429.345 | -6,8% | 5,7% | 4 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz | 378.286 | 386.413 | -2,1% | 5,4% | 6 |
| 7 | Audi | 352.370 | 365.958 | -3,7% | 5,0% | 8 |
| 8 | Fiat | 344.745 | 378.075 | -8,8% | 4,9% | 7 |
| 9 | BMW | 340.539 | 353.920 | -3,8% | 4,9% | 9 |
| 10 | Skoda | 321.252 | 296.577 | 8,3% | 4,6% | 11 |
| 11 | Toyota | 314.009 | 302.727 | 3,7% | 4,5% | 10 |
| 12 | Citroën | 269.268 | 262.491 | 2,6% | 3,8% | 12 |
| 13 | Nissan | 237.371 | 258.489 | -8,2% | 3,4% | 13 |
| 14 | Hyundai | 234.324 | 216.509 | 8,2% | 3,3% | 14 |
| 15 | Dacia | 229.219 | 193.357 | 18,5% | 3,3% | 16 |
| 16 | Kia | 221.150 | 201.852 | 9,6% | 3,2% | 15 |
| 17 | Seat | 202.808 | 170.438 | 19,0% | 2,9% | 17 |
| 18 | Volvo | 133.781 | 130.986 | 2,1% | 1,9% | 18 |
| 19 | Suzuki | 111.161 | 102.534 | 8,4% | 1,6% | 19 |
| 20 | Mazda | 102.500 | 97.729 | 4,9% | 1,5% | 20 |
| 21 | Mini | 89.525 | 86.655 | 3,3% | 1,3% | 21 |
| 22 | Jeep | 73.283 | 44.444 | 64,9% | 1,0% | 25 |
| 23 | Land Rover | 71.033 | 78.802 | -9,9% | 1,0% | 22 |
| 24 | Honda | 65.883 | 64.533 | 2,1% | 0,9% | 23 |
| 25 | Mitsubishi | 55.738 | 49.875 | 11,8% | 0,8% | 24 |
| 26 | Alfa Romeo | 41.890 | 37.299 | 12,3% | 0,6% | 27 |
| 27 | Smart | 41.512 | 43.546 | -4,7% | 0,6% | 26 |
| 28 | Porsche | 35.793 | 33.082 | 8,2% | 0,5% | 29 |
| 29 | Jaguar | 34.004 | 34.111 | -0,3% | 0,5% | 28 |
| 30 | Lancia | 23.193 | 32.650 | -29,0% | 0,3% | 30 |
| 31 | DS | 20.710 | 20.541 | 0,8% | 0,3% | 31 |
| 32 | Lexus | 20.066 | 18.429 | 8,9% | 0,3% | 32 |
| 33 | Subaru | 15.812 | 15.086 | 4,8% | 0,2% | 33 |
| 34 | Tesla | 9.401 | 9.012 | 4,3% | 0,1% | 34 |
| 35 | SSangYong | 7.196 | 8.055 | -10,7% | 0,1% | 35 |
| 36 | Maserati | 3.651 | 4.677 | -21,9% | 0,1% | 37 |
| 37 | SAIC MG | 3.415 | 1.680 | 103,3% | 0,0% | 40 |
| 38 | Infiniti | 2.776 | 6.468 | -57,1% | 0,0% | 36 |
| 39 | Lada | 2.215 | 2.028 | 9,2% | 0,0% | 38 |
| 40 | Ferrari | 1.568 | 1.485 | 5,6% | 0,0% | 41 |
| 41 | Bentley | 1.242 | 1.773 | -29,9% | 0,0% | 39 |
| 42 | Chevrolet | 968 | 1.054 | -8,2% | 0,0% | 43 |
| 43 | Aston Martin | 936 | 1.384 | -32,4% | 0,0% | 42 |
| 44 | Lamborghini | 688 | 408 | 68,6% | 0,0% | 44 |
| 45 | Dodge | 636 | 226 | 181,4% | 0,0% | 48 |
| 46 | Alpine | 400 | 0 | New | 0,0% | – |
| 47 | Cadillac | 367 | 366 | 0,3% | 0,0% | 45 |
| 48 | DR | 355 | 185 | 91,9% | 0,0% | 49 |
| 49 | Rolls Royce | 349 | 329 | 6,1% | 0,0% | 47 |
| 50 | Lotus | 258 | 362 | -28,7% | 0,0% | 46 |
| 51 | Mahindra | 183 | 184 | -0,5% | 0,0% | 50 |
| 52 | Geely | 76 | 105 | -27,6% | 0,0% | 51 |
| 53 | Chrysler | 43 | 36 | 19,4% | 0,0% | 52 |
| 54 | Bugatti | 12 | 5 | 140,0% | 0,0% | 53 |
European car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. They exclude vehicles registered as commercial vehicles. Source: ANDC, JATO Dynamics