New-car registrations across Europe continued to struggle in May as supply issues and difficult economic conditions put a brake on sales. 

The UK was once again one of the big losers, with its sales falling by 21% to 124,394, the second lowest monthly figure in three decades. 

Mike Hawes of the SMMT said, "In yet another challenging month for the new car market, the industry continues to battle ongoing global parts shortages, with growing battery electric vehicle uptake one of the few bright spots." 

In Germany sales were down 10% in May as manufacturers struggled to fulfil orders. This was the worst sales figures since the height of Coronavirus in May 2020. French sales were also down 10% in May. 

However, it was the Russian market that saw the biggest decline as sales were down by 84%. Sanctions and factory closures means that normally keen Russian buyers can no longer source vehicles, reducing May sales to just 25000 units.  

Some car makers still have limited stock to sell, but this is fast running out. After this buyers will be reduced to models from either a Russian or one Chinese owned factory.