Germany June 2018

Renault Zoe climbs to #1 

The German PEV passenger car market grew 23% in June, to 5,709 registrations, with PHEVs (+25%) and BEVs (+21%) growing at similar pace. In 2018, all-electrics are reaching 1% share, while plug-in hybrids grew their share to 1%, making a total PEV share of 2%.

But the most interesting story on the fuels mix is the Titanic-like drop of diesel vehicles sales, in June their sales sank 16%, to the benefit of all other kinds of fuels, with diesel now only representing 31% of the market..At this pace, Diesel sales could be tot in this market by 2021...Inconceivable? Well, in 12 months, Diesel lost 9% share, from 40% to 31%…

Looking at June Best Sellers, BMW had a 1-2 win, with the i3 scoring 509 units, a new Year Best, while the 225xe Active Tourer registered 500 units, a new record for the German MPV.

The Renault Zoe was Third, while the Surprise of the Month was the #5 Mini Countryman PHEV, that with 300 deliveries, had its best result ever in Germany. 

Just outside the Top 5, the VW e-Golf registered only 290 deliveries, its worst performance in 11 months. Is the German brand already starting the sunset mode of its BEV hatchback?

Pl	Model	Sales
1	BMW i3	509
2	BMW 225xe A. Tourer	500
3	Renault Zoe	465
4	Smart Forfour ED	310
5	Mini Countryman PHEV	300

Over the years, the German PEV market became known for its constant changes, with several plots and sub-plots happening every time, like a Rote Rosen-style novela, on this season, in the June chapter, we have yet another leadership change, with the Renault Zoe climbing to #1 for the first time since July '17.

But the changes in the front group didn't ended there, the BMW i3 surpassed the Smart Fortwo ED and is now the new Third Placed, but with only 358 units separating the 4 front-runners, there's still a lot to expect from this race until December, almost reminding the best races in Formula E. 

The Smart Forfour ED climbed two positions, to Sixth, making 6 BEVs in the Top 6 positions, which is a significant sign of what people are looking for...

In the PHEV race, the Mercedes E350e is losing ground to its persecutors (VW Passat & Golf GTE, BMW 225xe A. Tourer), with the BMW MPV expected to surpass the remaining competition in July.

The Audi A3 e-Tron is in recovery mode, jumping four positions, to #11, thanks to 279 units, its best result in 9 months, with the 2017 Best Seller looking to reach at least a Top 10 position.

As for Tesla Model S, the Sports Sedan climbed two positions to #15, but it is still behind its direct competitor, the #12 Porsche Panamera PHEV. Germany would always be a tough market to crack for Tesla (A bit like the BMW i3 in the US), but the truth is that this year, the Model S deliveries are down 32% YoY, while the Model X is faring even worse (-37% YoY). Are the upcoming German Premium BEVs already making a dent in Tesla sales?

Underlining another positive month for BMW, the 530e sedan also hit a personal best, with 161 registrations, allowing it to climb to #17.

In the brands ranking, Volkswagen (17%, down 1%) continues in the lead, but BMW (16%) is getting closer, while the #3 Smart (12%) is stable in the last place of the podium. 

Source: kba.de

Global June '18 Top 5 - Half game bet

1. Nissan Leaf - 42k
2. BAIC EC-Series - 40k
3. Tesla Model 3 - 27k
4. Toyota Prius PHEV - 25k

5. BYD Qin PHEV - 23k

South Korea H1 2018 (Draft)

Bolt vs Kona 

The South Korean market is on the fast track, having reached already 1.4% PEV share, mostly thanks to the increased availability (Finally!) of the Chevrolet Bolt, with the GM model delivering a record 1,621 units last month, or three times as much as it had during the whole 2017, and the arrival of the Hyundai Kona BEV, that delivered 1,076 units in June, so expect the share to grow even further, possibly ending at 2% this year, which would be a tremendous feat, given that in 2015, the Plug-in share was only 0.2%...

If this were to happen, would it be much to ask some 20% share by 2021?

With these two models breaking records by the hour, the previous driving force (Hyundai Ioniq Electric) in the market is losing relevance, and i wouldn't be surprised if it ended the year in Third...

A final mention to the #5 Twizy, that with 984 units so far, seems to have found success here.

Pl	Model	H1 2018
1	Hyundai Ioniq Electric	4,304
2	Chevrolet Bolt	3,122
3 4 5	Hyundai Kona EV Kia Soul EV Renault Samsung Twizy Others	1,380 990 984 1,716
	TOTAL	12,496

Finland June 2018

Volvo: Big in Finland

Volvo Land

Despite a harsh climate and small incentives, Finland has become a major plug-in market, thanks to some impressive growth rates, with June being no exception, with 509 PEV's sold, it was up 105% regarding the same month last year, with the 2018 numbers reaching over 3,200 units (+151%), and the 2018 PEV Share reaching a record 4.6%.

Sure, PHEVs represent 89% of the PEV market, but this is one of the few markets where a plug-in hybrid prevalence is understandable in snow-heavy Finland.

Looking at the models ranking, it's a Volvo-fest, with three Swede models in the Top 4, with only the Mercedes GLC350e following the pace of the Volvo models. The brand plug-ins are getting more love here, than in its home market...

The surprise of the month was the BMW 225xe Active Tourer, grabbing 28 deliveries in June (Best performance since January), allowing it to jump 6 positions, to Tenth, while on the BEV front, the Nissan Leaf is ahead, having already delivered twice as much units as it did in the whole 2017...

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, Volvo (34%) is leading by a mile, with Mercedes (19%) stable in Second and #3 BMW (12%), keeping a close eye on Volkswagen (9%).

Source: trafi.fi

France June 2018

Volvo Shines 

The French PEV passenger car market registered 4,667 registrations, up 13% YoY, with all-electric models growing (slightly) faster than plug-in hybrids (PHEVs +12%, BEVs +14%), something that hadn't been happening lately.

The 2018 PEV share remained stable at 1.8%, with BEVs alone having 1.2% share.

Looking at June Best Sellers, the Zoe collected another win, with registrations up 5% regarding the same month last year, something that the runner-up Nissan Leaf  can't  really complain, due to the new generation, with the Japanese hatchback scoring 469 deliveries, up 140% YoY. 

But the real events happened in the following places, with the Mini Countryman PHEV scoring a record 186 registrations, earning its first podium position, while the #4 Volvo XC60 PHEV also had a record result, with 185 deliveries.

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Renault Zoe	1928
2	Nissan Leaf	469
3	Mini Countryman PHEV	186
4	Volvo XC60 PHEV	185
5	BMW i3	182

In a market known for its stability, this time there were a number of changes in the Top 10, with the most relevant belongging to Volvo SUVs, with the XC60 PHEV climbing to #4, thanks to the aforementioned record performance, while its XC90 PHEV larger sibling, jumped two positions, to #6, thanks to 111 deliveries, the vessel's best result in two years. We now have two Volvos in the Top 6, a first for the Swedish carmaker.

But the Climber of the Month was the Mini Countryman PHEV, leaping 8 positions to…#8. 

The Good Ol' Peugeot iOn rejoined the Top 10, in #9, a notable performance for the veteran model, considering it landed 600 8 years ago, while its Citroen twin, the C-Zero, rejoined the Top 20, with a Year Best performance of 77 deliveries.

Finally, three PHEVs were on the up in June, with the BMW 225xe Active Tourer (113 units) rising three positions to #14, the VW Golf GTE (101 units) climbing to #17, and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (95), to #18. Interestingly, all three models hit Year Best performances, are we witnessing the begginning of a new period of fast PHEV growth?

In the brands ranking, Renault (37, up 1%) continues in the leading position, followed at a distance by BMW (12%) and Nissan (10%, down 1%). 

Source: Avere France