Europe April 2017

GLC350e: Mercedes plug-in star

Renault Zoe hiccups, but remains #1

The European passenger plug-in market had some 17.500 registrations last month, up only 6% over the same month last year. Despite this slowdown, the market is up 24% this year, with the EV share now standing at 1.4%.

Despite some supply chain issues that will only be completely cleared in June, the Renault Zoe remained Master in Command both in April and YTD, with the BMW i3 and Outlander PHEV recovering some ground over the ageing Nissan Leaf.

  

Looking at the Monthly Models Ranking:

#1 Renault Zoe – Due to some quality glitches, the delivery of some 2.000 Zoe was delayed, hurting April’s performance of the French hatchback, that last month only registered 1.627 passenger units, its worst result of the year, but still enough to win for the fourth time in a row the Monthly Best Seller status in Europe. Due to these hiccups, the model performance suffered across Europe, like in its home market (939 units, down 5%) or Austria (96, down 2%), but nevertheless, it managed to grow in the all-important German market, with 280 units, up 27%.    

#2 BMW i3 – The German Hot Hatch had its worst selling month in Europe since the massive arrival of the 33 kWh battery, with 1.562 units being delivered, despite this, deliveries were up 27% YoY, with good numbers especially in Norway, with 426 units, all of them being BEV(!), but also in its home Germany (357), United Kingdom (195) or Austria (93). Looking ahead, expect deliveries to slowly drop throughout the summer as people anticipate the revised version, coming later in the year.

#3 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – After a tight race with the BMW i3, the Japanese SUV ended March in Third Place, with 1.507 units, down 15% YoY. Although reaching interesting sales levels in important markets, like Germany (294 units) or Norway (222), Mitsubishi will have a hard time to find a replacement for the United Kingdom sales, as from now on incentives for PHEV’s have become much less appealing there.

#4 Nissan Leaf – Thanks to deep discounting, the ageing hatch is resisting the newer offerings, reaching Fourth Place, despite registrations down 31% YoY to 1.326 units. With steady sales in its stronghold markets, like Norway (287 units), the United Kingdom (350) or France (198), and a surprising performance in Sweden (189 units, a new record), the veteran model is keeping momentum by appealing to a new demographic, still untapped by EV’s: Bargain Hunters.

#5 Mercedes GLC350e – The (not so) surprise of the month, the trendy Mercedes model is in the intersection of two hot trends in the Old Continent: SUV’s and plug-ins, all served in a Euro-friendlier size than the Yacht-like models above it (Tesla Model X, Volvo XC90…), reaching #5 in April, with 961 units. The largest markets for the Mercedes SUV were Belgium (204 units, new record), Norway (179 units) and Germany (126). The three-pointed-star has hit a home-run with this model, especially considering that it doesn’t have direct competition among the Premium Brands.

VW Golf plug-ins: Ready to climb the ranking

   

YTD Ranking – Zoe Steady in #1, Mercedes GLC350e up to #7.

Looking at the YTD ranking, the top positions remained stable (See disclaimer), with the highest position change occurring only in the Seventh Spot, with the Mercedes GLC350e reaching its best position to date, now looking to reach the rear of the Tesla Model S and VW Passat GTE in the near future.

Other models on the rise are the BMW 330e, now #8, and its 225xe Active Tourer relative, in Tenth, making three BMW’s in the Top 10.

Underlining the positive momentum of pure electric cars, we salute the return to the Top 20 of the VW e-Golf, with the German Hatchback delivering 669 units in April, its best result in 12 months, thanks to the massive delivery of the larger 36 kWh battery. With the Opel Ampera-e (Chevrolet Bolt in Euro-spec) volume delivery now underway in Norway (More than 150 units delivered there in May) and elsewhere, expect the Opel EV to reach the Top 20 during the summer.

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BMW (20%, up 3%) is seated on the Top Spot, followed by Renault (13%, down 1%) in Second Place, while the Third Place is being hardly fought by Nissan, Mercedes and Volkswagen, all with 10% share. With the Wolfsburg brand now making the restyled Golf plug-ins at full speed, expect it to beat the competition in the next couple of months and race Renault for the Second position.

Pl	Europe	April	2017	%
1	Renault Zoe	1.627	10.676	13
2	Nissan Leaf	1.326	8.009	10
3	BMW i3	1.562	7.031	8
4	Mitsu. Outlander PHEV	1.507	6.174	8
5 6	Tesla Model S Volkswagen Passat GTE	559 872	4.276 4.252	5 5
7	Mercedes GLC350e	961	3.503	4
8	BMW 330e	777	3.442	4
9	Tesla Model X	481	3.386	4
10 11 12	BMW 225xe Active Tourer Volvo XC90 T8 Mercedes C350e	711 443 677	3.084 2.931 2.821	4 4 3
13 14	Audi A3 e-Tron BMW X5 40e	681 485	2.287 2.051	3 3
15	Hyundai Ioniq Electric	433	1.602	2
16	Volkswagen e-Golf	669	1.559	2
17	Kia Soul EV	343	1.540	2
18 19 20	Volkswagen Golf GTE Audi Q7 e-Tron Volvo V60 Plug-In Others	613 330 282 2.174	1.538 1.295 1.213 8.574	2 2 1
	TOTAL	17.513	81.244

Disclaimer: Due to some data adjustments in the March numbers, the models positioning were subject to changes regarding the March article.