he company added that this May had fewer trading days than in 2014 in some countries, which is likely to have impacted the relatively lower volumes in those markets. Despite this, overall sales continued to grow due to the continued recovery in some of the countries hardest-hit economic downturn of recent years (e.g. Ireland, Italy) and the renewal of government incentives in Spain.

JATO data also showed that sales across Europe have increased by 7.0% year-to-date.

Brian Walters, vice president of data at JATO Dynamics, commented: “The number of trading days can affect monthly volumes, disguising underlying trends. The fact that growth continued despite this, along with the strong year-to-date growth gives us reason to be confident about the health of the car market in Europe.”

Volkswagen maintained its lead of the market, as its sales dropped by only 1.1% in May and increased by 7.3% year-to-date. Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot completed the Top Five for the month, while Opel/Vauxhall moved ahead of Renault this month for the year-to-date measure.

Despite the lost trading days four of the Top Ten brands recorded increased sales, mostly down to recent model introductions, such as Fiat’s 500X, Renault’s Kadjar and Mercedes’ latest C-Class.

Outside the Top Ten brands, new models and variants were linked with the growth, as Jeep, smart, Ssangyong and MINI all recorded larger sales increases compared to May 2014.

A 3.0% reduction in monthly sales made little impact on the Volkswagen Golf’s domination of the sales chart, as its two nearest competitors, the Ford Fiesta and Renault Clio also suffered.

Further down the chart, Volkswagen’s revised Polo and new-generation Passat recorded significantly increased sales compared to May 2014.

Outside the Top Ten, small crossovers continued to increase their market share, as Renault Captur, Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, Nissan Juke, Citroën C4 Cactus and Fiat 500X grew the segment. The compact MPV segment is also experiencing resurgence, driven by the new Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan and BMW 2-Series Active Tourer.

Brian Walters added: “Regardless of May’s monthly total, with sustained underlying demand, new and diverse models driving increased sales and the resurgence of the compact MPV segment, the European new-car market is as dynamic as ever.”