A jump in electric car sales helped give a slight boost to Germany鈥檚 troubled auto market last month, official data showed Wednesday, although Elon Musk鈥檚 Tesla fared poorly again.
A total of 239,297 new vehicles were registered in May in Europe鈥檚 top car market, 1.2 per cent more than the same month last year, the KBA federal transport authority said.
The number of electric vehicles (EVs) registered jumped 45 per cent, as the segment continues a tentative recovery following a downturn last year triggered by the removal of government subsidies.
This offset declines for petrol and diesel vehicle sales.
But electric car maker Tesla, which has suffered across Europe due to anger that Musk played a role as a key advisor to US president Donald Trump, saw its sales slide again, this time by 36 per cent.
The US billionaire has faced particular hostility in Germany for backing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) before February鈥檚 general election.
