Sweden May 2026: Tesla (+70.6%), Kia (+23.7%) strong in stable market

The new EV2 helps Kia up in Sweden this month.

25,985 new cars hit Swedish roads in May, a small 1.2% year-on-year improvement. The year-to-date tally is now down -1.2% to 112,092. BEV sales advance 13.2% to 10,718 and 41.2% share vs. 36.9% in May 2025 while PHEVs are down -1.8% to 6,645 and 25.6% share vs. 26.4% a year ago. This means rechargeable cars hold 66.8% of the Swedish market in May vs. 63.2% last year. 

Local behemoth Volvo (+3%) remains by far the most popular carmaker at home wit 19.8% share, well above the 17% it commands year-to-date. Volkswagen (-8.5%) struggles but manages to stay in 2nd place above a surging Kia (+23.7%). Toyota (-2.2%) drops one spot on last month #4 with Skoda (+15%) very dynamic below. Tesla (+70.6%) is the best performer in the Top 10 but remains below its YTD level at 3.3% vs. 3.7%. Further down, Subaru (+542.9%), BYD (+353.9%), Citroen (+100%) and Fiat (+73.7%) all post surreal gains.

Over in the models ranking, the Volvo EX/XC40 (+34.2%) stays strong ahead of the Volvo XC60 (-0.9%) and cements its YTD leadership. The Tesla Model Y (+48%) is up seven spots on April to #3, a ranking it also holds year-to-date. The Volvo EX30 (+22.3%) is also sturdy at #4 thanks to the addition of the Cross Country version, and is also #4 year-to-date vs. #9 over the Full Year 2025. The Fiat Ducato (+70.5%) is the best performer in the Top 10, with the VW Tiguan (+23%), Skoda Kodiaq (+15.4%) and Volvo S/V60 (+12.3%) also solid. The Top 3 best-selling recent launches are Kias: the EV4 at #26, EV5 at #27 and EV2 at #30.

Previous month: Sweden April 2026: Toyota (+23.4%), Kia (+24.4%) stand out, Yaris at record ranking

One year ago: Sweden May 2025: Audi (+59.2%), Skoda (+43.8%) and Polestar (+39%) impress

Full May 2026 Top 57 All brands and Top 289 All models below.