Sweden May 2019: Volvo S/V60 tightens stranglehold on market down by double-digits for 11th straight month (-15.3%)

The Volvo S/V60 has become the uncontested leader at home.

Sadly the Swedish new car market is approaching a full year of double-digit declines with May marking the 11th straight month of such falls at -15.3% to 31.919 units, leading to a year-to-date tally down -14.6% to 136.052. Homegrown leader Sweden resists much better at just -4.7%, resulting in a strong 19.5% share, contrasting with #2 Volkswagen (-39.9%) in total freefall to 11.1% of the market vs. 12.7% year-to-date. Kia (-4%) is up one spot on April to round up the podium ahead of Toyota (+1.7%) lodging the only gain in a Top 5 closed by BMW (-5.7%). Audi (+12.3%) posts the only double-digit uptick in the Top 10, with Renault (-35.7%) and Mercedes (-34.4%) in great difficulty.

Below, Tesla (+646.9%), Jaguar (+189.4%), Lexus (+70.3%), Citroen (+59%), Mitsubishi (+16.6%) and Mini (+16.1%) stand out. Model-wise, the Volvo S/V60 (+80.2%) sails off in the distance, selling more than double the #2, the Volvo S/V90 (-54.9%) and cementing its YTD leadership. The VW Golf (-27.4%), Volvo XC60 (-30.1%) and V40 (+103.4%) round up the Top 5, while the Toyota RAV4 (+122.7%) and Kia Niro (+69.9%) also post stellar performances in side the Top 10 and the Toyota Corolla (#10) tops recent launches above the Tesla Model 3 (#45), Seat Tarraco (#56), VW T-Cross (#73) and Audi e-Tron (#95).

Previous month: Sweden April 2019: Mercedes (+41.6%) stays afloat in 10th consecutive double-digit decline

One year ago: Sweden May 2018: Volvo V90 unbeatable in record market

Full May 2019 Top 45 All-brands and Top 255 All-models below.