By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) – The EU's passenger car market expanded by 53.4% in May compared to the same month last year, an industry association said Thursday.
"Nevertheless, last month’s result is still far below the 1.2 million cars that were sold in May 2019," the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a statement.
Automobile registrations across the 27-member bloc stood at 891,665 units last month.
Almost all 27 EU markets posted double-digit increases last month. While Ireland posted the strongest increase with 240%, Portugal (190.2%), and Spain (177.8%) followed it.
Among manufacturer groups' EU sales, the largest uplift was posted by Hyundai Group – the owner of Kia and Hyundai brands – in May with 79.4%, followed by Toyota Group (Toyota and Lexus) with 73%, and Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Seat, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti) with 71.8%.
For the January-May period, the EU's demand for passenger cars rose by 29.5% compared to the same period last year and reached 4.3 million.
The EU is the main automotive export market for Turkey, where top international automakers – Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, Renault, and Toyota – are operating.
