Europe July 2017

Zoe #1 in holiday season

The European passenger plug-in market started its usual holiday season, down almost a third regarding the previous month (Summertime = Lower sales), by registering some 19.600 units, but it is still up 41% regarding the same month last year, so the growth trend continues. Year-to-date, the market is up 34% this year, with the EV share now standing at a record 1.6%.

Despite being holiday season, the Renault Zoe hasn’t stopped trailing the competition, a bit like cyclist Chris Froome, it seems no one can get them out of the Yellow Jersey, whatever the month or competition, with the French hatchback being once again the Best Seller in July, while plug-in hybrids took this special time of the year to post a positive month and outsell pure electrics (57% vs 43%), but YTD, BEVs are still ahead, if by less than 100 units.

Looking at the Monthly Models Ranking:

 

#1 Renault Zoe – With orders currently outnumbering production, Renault couldn’t lift off the foot from the accelerator too much and enjoy the holiday season, so the Zoe scored 1.919 units, up 68% YoY, enough to win for the seventh time in a row the Monthly Best Seller status in Europe. Or all 2017 trophies…As for Zoe individual performances, it was good news across the continent, with high numbers in Germany (413 units), Norway (250) or Austria (207).    

#2 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – A positive month in July, with the Japanese SUV sales growing 4% YoY, to 1.406 registrations. Besides the usual strongholds (The UK, Sweden and Norway), Mitsubishi scored a home run last month in Iceland, scoring 134(!) units, a new all-time record for a single model in that country, but in the long run, no one really knows if the Japanese SUV can keep up with the general growing sales trend and stay among Europe’s top sellers.

#3 BMW i3 – The German Hot Hatch was up 73% in July, to 1.287 units, with BEVs representing 71% of all sales, while looking at individual countries, no big surprises, with Norway registering 277 units, all of them being BEV, and its home market, Germany, scoring 325 registrations. Looking ahead, expect deliveries to slow down, as people anticipate the revised version, coming later in the year.

#4 Nissan Leaf – The Granddaddy of the ranking keeps on scoring four-digit results like if it had been launched only a few months ago, sure, most is thanks to deep discounting, but nevertheless, the ageing hatch is resisting quite well to the newer offerings, growing 18%(!) YoY to 1.128 units. With steady sales in its stronghold markets (France, UK and Norway), and even scoring a record 61 deliveries in Portugal, the veteran model is keeping momentum by appealing to a new demographic, Bargain Hunters looking for the current best value for money out there. Were it a new model, and I would even say it was the first EV to reach price parity with the ICE competition…

#5 Mercedes GLC350e – The Mercedes plug-in SUV recorded 991 deliveries last month, proving to be the fashionable Luxury SUV du jour (Nevermind that it only has 34 kms range NEDC, or some 20 kms in the real world), the important here is that it manages to dodge the fiscal system in many countries and get the benefits from being “environmentally friendly” (Euro-speak for “Compliance Car”). But enough bitching, the stylish Mercedes has its largest markets in Norway (295 units), Germany (138) and Belgium (132). This model is serving for Mercedes as a customer lab experiment, warming them up to the brands real Game Changer, the 2019 EQ SUV.

7-seater BMW 2-Series. Many families would be happy if it had a Plug...

YTD Ranking – Zoe reinforces #1, Mercedes GLC350e in #6.

Looking at the YTD ranking, the top positions remained stable, with the Zoe increasing its lead, with the most notable changes being the Mercedes GLC350e climbing to the Sixth Spot and endangering the Tesla Model S Fifth Place.

Other model on the rise is BMW 225xe Active Tourer, now in #8, by the way, imagine how many more units would this model have, if the 7-seater version had also a plug, because excepting the low range Nissan Evalia van-with-windows, no one is selling a regularly priced plug-in 7-seater in Europe. Why, oh why? It’s low-hanging fruit, people…

In this edition we extend the ranking to a Top 30, where we see some hot sellers bubbling up, like the #23 BMW 530e (546 deliveries in July, only one unit less than the Model S), and the recently arrived Mini Countryman PHEV (452 units) in #29, with the British Crossover sandwiched between two models that only share the nationality and the fact both have a steering wheel and four wheels: The Post Office’s best friend StreetScooter Work in #28, and the  #30 Porsche Panamera PHEV.

But what about the Opel Ampera-e? (Chevrolet Bolt in Euro-Speak)

Well, the good news is that it is climbing in the ranking, currently it’s at #33, but it is doing so at glacial pace, so expect it to reach the Top 10 in around…A million years, when the Pangaea supercontinent is back. Maybe.

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BMW (20%) is comfortably seated on the Iron Throne, followed by Renault (13%, down 1%) in Second Place, while the Third Spot is being hardly fought by the new Bronze medalist Mercedes (11%, up 2%), Volkswagen (10%, down 1%), Nissan and Tesla, these last two with 9% share.

Will Mercedes be able to race with Renault for the Second position, or will VW fight back and recover the Third Spot? Do not miss out the next episodes, we surely won’t....

Published also on CleanTechnica

Pl	Europe	July	YTD	%
1	Renault Zoe	1919	18739	12
2	Nissan Leaf	1128	12189	8
3	BMW i3	1277	11501	7
4	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	1406	10708	7
5	Tesla Model S	547	7269	5
6	Mercedes GLC350e	991	6917	4
7	VW Passat GTE	627	6864	4
8	BMW 225xe Act. Tourer	901	6055	4
9	Tesla Model X	562	6021	4
10	BMW 330e	662	5614	4
11	Audi A3 e-Tron	926	4932	3
12	Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV	395	4309	3
13	VW e-Golf	410	4159	3
14	Mercedes C350e	438	3882	3
15	BMW X5 40e	366	3638	2
16	VW Golf GTE	483	3557	2
17	Hyundai Ioniq Electric	475	3051	2
18	Kia Soul EV	511	2706	2
19	Nissan e-NV200 / Evalia	248	2466	1
20	Audi Q7 e-Tron	263	2283	1
21	Mercedes B250e	251	2036	1
22	Mercedes E350e	258	1769	1
23	BMW 530e	546	1731	1
24	Volvo V60 PHEV	156	1677	1
25	Porsche Cayenne PHEV	151	1611	1
26	Renault Kangoo ZE	80	1599	1
27	Volkswagen e-Up!	151	1539	1
28	Streetscooter Work	383	1489	1
29	Mini Countryman PHEV	452	1281	1
30	Porsche Panamera PHEV	525	1213	1
	Others	2155	11928	9
	TOTAL	19643	154733	100