Norway June 2020

Skoda Octavia PHEV: Norway's next Success Story?

PHEVs Up, BEVs Down

The Norwegian is leaving behind the pandemic-related disruption, dropping just 26% YoY in June, almost in line with the YTD average (-24%) with plugins representing 66% of the overall Norwegian market last month, with BEVs alone representing 44% of the total sales, keeping the 2020 PEV share at 69% (48% BEV).

While BEV registrations (-32% last month) continue on the slow lane, PHEVs are running strong (+77% in June), compensating the BEV drop, with plugin hybrids recovering ground regarding pure electrics, with PHEVs having 34% of plugin sales in June, above the 30% yearly average. 

Looking at June model sales by fuel, we have the Skoda Octavia ICE model breaking for the second time in a row the 100% BEV Top 5 rule that had been happening in the past months, which can only mean good htings for the upcoming Octavia PHEV...Sure, it's not a pure EV, but it's still better than a pure ICE model, right?

The remaining Top 5 saw the VW e-Golf win another Best Seller trophy, while the Tesla Model 3 reached a podium seat, losing Silver to the Hyundai Kona EV, that scored a record 535 registrations, thanks to the fresh units coming out of Hyundai's Czech factory.

This month surprise result went to the Volvo XC40 PHEV, that came out of nowhere into #4 in June's ranking, scoring not only a personal best, but quite possibly the best performance ever by a Volvo plugin model in Norway. A star is born?

Interestingly, the Audi e-Tron is out of the Top 5 for the first time this year... Are these the first signs that the big Audi is becoming out of fashion?

Pl	Model	Sales
1	VW e-Golf	707
2	Hyundai Kona EV	535
3	Tesla Model 3	527
4	Volvo XC40 PHEV	475
5	Skoda Octavia	459

Looking at the 2020 ranking, the Hyundai Kona EV profited from the recent production ramp up to surpass the Nissan Leaf and reach the podium, while in #6, the Tesla Model 3 took advantage from the (limited) end of quarter high tide to surpass the Renault Zoe, recovering one position with it.

The Peugeot 208 EV climbed to #17, and should rise further in the coming months, after all, its French arch-rival, the Renault Zoe, is 6th....

In the unplugged category, the highest standing is now the Skoda Octavia, in #8 (which bodes well for the success of its PHEV versions...), with the #10 Toyota C-HR now leading the Toyota hybrid pack 

Interestingly, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid had a slow month, dropping to #14...Is the model PHEV version already casting a shadow over the regular HEV version?

Back to plugins, the Volvo XC60 PHEV jumped two spots, to #13, thanks to 260 deliveries, a new Year Best for the midsize SUV, while in the same category, the Mercedes EQC was up to #17, thanks to 220 units, with the midsize Mercedes profiting from the production ramp up.

We have two new models in the table, with SAIC's MG ZS EV joining the table in #18, thanks to a record 316 registrations last month, while the Volvo S/V60 PHEV twins are now in #20, thanks to a record performance of 216 units in June, but the midsize Swedes shouldn't stay here for long, as in #21 we have another Volvo, with the rising star XC40 PHEV scoring a record 475 units last month, with the compact SUV possibly jumping several positions next month.

Highlighting Volvo's good moment, even the daddy of them all, the XC90 PHEV, had a good month, scoring 114 units last month, a new year best.

But it wasn't only Volvo to shine outside the Top 20, as the popular Ford Kuga PHEV registered a record 136 units, the Porsche Taycan profited from the production ramp up to score a best ever 172 deliveries, and finally, the Peugeot 2008 EV crossover landed last month with 146 units, an impressive performance that could propell it to PSA's Best Selling plugin model in this market.

Looking at the overall manufacturers ranking, Volkswagen (13%, up 1%) is now alone in the leadership, with Audi (10%, down 2%) dropping share, with the #3 Toyota (9%) in Third.

Outside the podium, Volvo (7%, up 1%) surpassed BMW (7%), while Hyundai (6%) and Skoda (6%) remain in the same spots.

Netherlands June 2020

Tesla Model 3 holds on to #1

With the Netherlands moving out of the pandemic-related disruption, the transition is being done faster in the plugin category (down only 13% in June) than the in overall market (-39%)

This meant that the PEV Share of continues on the rise, with 16% (11% BEV) in June, pulling the 2020 PEV share to 13% (9% BEV), well above last year result (6%).

Looking at last month sellers, we saw an interesting race, with the Kia Niro EV taking an early lead in June, only to be surpassed by the Tesla Model 3 in the last days of the month, thanks to the arrival of fresh units, that propelled the sports sedan to the leadership. 

Still, it was a great month for the Kia Niro EV, as last month performance (542 units) represented its best result ever in Dutch lands, so it seems the Korean maker is finding enough batteries to keep ramping up production of its popular EV. 

Coincidence or not, the other Kia BEV model, the Soul EV, also scored a record result last month, with 70 deliveries. Kia is rising...

Surprisingly, the Volvo XC40 PHEV ended the month in 3rd, with a record 374 units, being once again the Best Selling PHEV in this market, after a slow ramp up last year, the Swedish SUV is now delivering large volumes and proving its popularity in the Netherlands, which is a promising sign for the future XC40 BEV.

In 4th place we have the Hyundai Kona EV, with 326 units, a new Year Best, which means that the Czech-made units of the Korean crossover are now being delivered in large volumes, so expect the Hyundai model to continue being a familiar face in the Top 5.

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Tesla Model 3	716
2	Kia Niro EV	542
3	Volvo XC40 PHEV	374
4	Hyundai Kona EV	326
5	VW e-Golf	299

Looking at the 2020 ranking, if the leadership remained in the possession of the Tesla Model 3, the reality is that this time there was more to the story than these number tell, because in the beggining of June, as the Model 3 inventory units had dried out, Tesla saw the Kia Niro EV surpass its sedan, with the Korean crossover becoming the #1 during a couple of weeks, but around the 23rd of June, Tesla Netherlands finally received new units, fresh from the Zeebrugge port, which allowed the Model 3 to run from behind and recover the lead, ending the month with a 391 units advantage over the Kia EV.

But because Tesla only had time to ship pre-ordered units for June, in July Tesla is suffering once again from lack of inventory units, so expect the Kia Niro EV to once again go after #1 in July, with the Model 3 possibly only recovering back the lead in September...

After September, it's anyone's guess, because by then there will be another big player in the market, the VW ID.3, so Q4 should see an entertaining race to follow.

In the PHEV category, we are witnessing an historic moment, after years leading the plugin hybrid segment in this country, a year ago the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was selling three times as much as the category #2, the Volvo XC60 PHEV, now the Japanese SUV was  trounced surpassed by the rising star Volvo XC40 PHEV, the new category leader, with the veteran Mitsubishi also having to watch its back from another youngster, the Ford Kuga PHEV, that jumped two positions in June, to #12, thanks to yet another record performance, 164 units being registered last month, so expect Ford's rookie to keep on rising in the coming months. 

(Watching these great performances from the unassuming Kuga PHEV, i wonder how many pre-orders Ford Netherlands might have of the much more compelling Mustang Mach-E...)

Elsewhere, the ranking had more changes to talk about, the Hyundai Kona EV was up to #4, surpassing the sold out Opel Ampera-e, while the #11 Renault Zoe is getting closer to the #10 Volvo S/V60 PHEV, thanks to 102 units, a new year best, but the French hatchback will also have to look behind, not only the aforementioned Ford Kuga PHEV is closing in (only 9 units separate both), but also the MG ZS EV, that jumped to #13, thanks to a year best performance of 156 registrations.  

Outside the Top 20, the tiny Seat Mii EV scored a record 52 deliveries, while Porsche saw its Taycan EV score a record 46 registrations last month (as much as the Tesla Model S and X counted together), while the Cayenne PHEV had 44 deliveries in June, the SUV's best performance in almost two years...

In the manufacturers ranking, Tesla and Kia (both with 14%, up 1%), are running neck-to-neck for the leadership, with the Californian maker leading by just 18 units over the Korean, followed by the #3 Volkswagen (11%) and #4 Volvo (9%).

Coming from behind, we have the rising #5 Hyundai (8%, up 1%), that could ambition a podium seat in the near future.

Midsize Cars

Pl	Model	2020 Sales
1	Tesla Model 3	2,690
2	BMW 3-Series	2,041
3	Volvo S/V60	1,884
4	Mercedes C-Class	890
5	Audi A4	739

Tesla's midsizer is leading, followed by the electrified BMW 3-Series (12% PHEV units) and Volvo's S/V60 twins (27%).

As for the remaining Top 5, the local Mercedes importer has started to deliver the C300e/de PHEV versions, so there is hope for it, something that can't be said about the 100% unplugged Audi A4...

So, if we exclude the Model 3 from the tally, this is the least electrified category of the lot. Some would say that Legacy OEMs are afraid to go head to head with Tesla's Best Seller...

Midsize SUVs

Pl	Model	2020 Sales
1	Volvo XC60	820
2	Mitsubishi Outlander	721
3	BMW X3	666
4	Mercedes GLC	319
5	Mercedes EQC	208

Diversity is the word here, from the all-electric Mercedes EQC, to the almost all-PHEV Mitsubishi Outlander (96% PHEV units), passing by the mildly plugged Volvo XC60 (27% PHEV) or the BMW X3 (23%), and ending on the almost plugless Mercedes GLC.

While the Volvo XC60 lost a few electrification points regarding last March, the BMW X3 increased its electrification share by 9%, to 23%, and should continue to see its plugin share increase over the next few months, while Mercedes is now starting to add PHEV units to its GLC midsize SUV. Is Mercedes finally determined to expand its plugin availability?

Full size Cars

Pl	Model	2020 Sales
1	BMW 5-Series	943
2	Volvo S/V90	397
3	Mercedes E-Class	341
4	Audi A6	268
5	Porsche Taycan	154

The leadership is in the hands of the BMW 5-Series, that has a low plugin share of its sales, at only 13%.

But there are other models in worse shape, the #2 Mercedes E-Class has only 8% of its sales coming from its PHEV versions, while the S/V90 PHEVs have only 6% share of the big Swedes sales, and the Audi A6 has yet to receive its PHEV units. 

The only good news are the Porsche Taycan reaching the Top 5, so we now have one BEV model in every one of these 4 Top 5's.

Full size SUVs

Pl	Model	2020 Sales
1	BMW X5	572
2	Porsche Cayenne	430
3	Volvo XC90	327
4	Audi e-Tron	287
5	LR Range Rover Sport	228

Unlike the full size car category, where ICE is still king, here on behemoth-land, electrification is more advanced, with the leader BMW X5 having 60% of its sales coming from its PHEV version, the #3 Volvo XC90 have 86% electrification share, while the Range Rover Sport has 87% of all its sales also coming from the PHEV version.

The all electric Audi e-Tron is 4th, while the #2 Porsche Cayenne is the only model (for now) with most of its sales coming from the plugless versions, but with a 14% rise regarding last March, to the current 24% electrification rate, expect the Porsche SUV to become also a plugin friendly model soon.