Car sales in the European Union (EU) increased by 28.8 percent in March compared to the same month last year, reaching 1.088 million units, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

All the largest EU markets showed double-digit sales growth last month: in Spain they were 66.1 percent, in Italy - 40.7 percent, in France - 24.2 percent, and in Germany - 16.6 percent.

In general, the number of new cars sold in Europe—that is, the EU countries plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK—increased by 26.1 percent in March and amounted to 1.42 million cars.

Last month, sales of Volkswagen Group (VW) vehicles—including Skoda, Audi, Seat, Porsche, etc.—in the EU increased by 35 percent to 275,757 units. And the share of VW in the EU market increased from 24.2 percent last year to 25.3 percent.

The car sales of the Stellantis car concern—i.e., Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group—increased by 29 percent to 216,862 units. But Stellantis' market share remained at 19.9 percent.

Renault Group’s sales increased by 30 percent to 110,496 vehicles, and those of the Hyundai Group—including Kia—went up by 9 percent to 83,376 vehicles.

Sales of Toyota cars increased by 25 percent, BMW - by 28 percent, and Mercedes-Benz - by 20 percent.

Tesla Inc. sales of electric cars in the EU increased 1.8 times to 40,777 units.

In general, the sale of electric cars in the region increased by 1.6 times, making 151,573 cars. The share of electric cars in the European market increased to 13.9 percent in March, compared to 11.4 percent last year.

Car sales in the EU increased by 17.9 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and amounted to 2.65 million units.