World Vehicle Sales Grew 4.6% in May

Global automakers delivered 7.56 million vehicles in May, rising 4.6% above year-ago.

Sales in Europe soared 12.5% with 1.75 million units. Big gains in France (+23.2%) and Italy (+28.0%) helped the region reach its highest May total since 2011. In the U.K., sales grew a modest 2.7% as businesses and consumers across Europe looked ahead to the uncertain Brexit referendum.

Greece recorded its highest any-month total since June 2010, rising 48.0% year-over-year with over 14,000 sales in the same month debt-relief loans were approved by the EU.

Russia’s market shrank 13.7% below year-ago, while demand in Ukraine grew 44.1% with 4,900 units. Volkswagen Group reported a 7.5% increase in sales in Russia and an 11.7% improvement in Central and Eastern Europe as a whole.

Through May, Europe’s total was 7.4% above like-2015 with 8.59 million sales, a 23.1% share of the global tally.

The Asia-Pacific region witnessed an 8.1% year-over-year improvement, with 3.53 million deliveries. Despite the start of the rainy season, sales soared 15.9% in Thailand and 32.8% in Vietnam. After a small uptick in April, Japan’s total slipped 1.2% below year-ago to 332,000 units.

In China, sales improved 10.0% to 2.09 million vehicles. Chinese brands grew their share of passenger-vehicle sales by 12.9% to clench 40% of the market. GM and its joint ventures reported a May record of 295,282 sales in China, citing increased demand for Buick, Cadillac and Baojun brands.

Year-to-date, the Asia-Pacific region’s total grew 5.2% to 18.56 million sales. Without the boost from market giant China, the region was up 1.7% over same-period 2015.

South America sales continued to shrink below last year’s levels, falling 11.9% to 310,000 vehicles. The region has been facing unrelenting economic strains such as flooding, food shortages and political uncertainty. In the first five months of the year, South America sales dropped 18% from like-2015 with 1.5 million units.

With an extensive network of free-trade agreements and low vehicle prices, Chile again was a bright spot in the region, growing 12.4% from year-ago with 25,000 units. Neighboring Argentina, host to 10 manufacturers, saw a 22.8% surge in sales. Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela saw double-digit loses.

In North America, increased demand in Mexico (+19.4%) was not enough to balance low sales in the U.S. (-6.1%) and Canada (-1.6%). The region’s total fell 4.3% below year-ago to 1.89 million vehicles. Through May, 8.68 million vehicles have been sold in the region, outpacing same-2015 by 2.4%.

Worldwide, sales were up 3.8% for the first five months of the year, with 37.76 million vehicles sold.

[email protected]