New figures released by automotive industry body ACEA show that May registrations declined 5.9% in the EU while year-to-date registrations are down 6.8%. 

In response, Hyundai has announced a 0.4% increase in May to of 36,468 and says it remains on target to maintain the 3.5% full-year market share achieved in 2012.

Allan Rushforth, senior vice president and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, commented: ‘The European car market is increasingly hard-wired into fiscal policy. Car buyers are looking at more fuel-efficient cars in response to emissions-based vehicle taxation policy.  This helps a company like Hyundai sell more cars – evidenced by the performance of our i20, i30 and i40.

‘While consumer confidence is on the way up, there’s still a deferral of vehicle purchases in Europe due to continued economic uncertainties. We anticipate there will be slow, organic growth in the European car market from the fourth quarter onward this year.’

Figures from industry analyst IHS Global Insight show solid gains for Hyundai models in key European segments.  In the four months to April 2013, the segment share of the B-segment the new i20 rose from 2.2% to 2.7%, while the new-generation i30 registered a share increase from 4.5% to 4.8% in the competitive C1-segment. Hyundai has also secured gains in the class above, with i40 increasing its share of the D1-segment from 4.0% to 6.2% during the same period.