Portugal December 2017

Renault Zoe wins #1 and BMW shines in fast growing market

PEV Sales continue on the fast lane in Portugal, with sales hitting a new record (The third in a row) in December, with 561 registrations (Up 153%YoY), pulling the 2017 registrations to a final tally of 4.237 units, up 126% regarding 2016, with the PEV share ending at a record 1.9% (3.2% in December).

Looking at the fuels mix, in the full year data it is possible to see some important changes, with Diesel losing 4% share, to 61%, an important drop in a diesel-addicted market, but more relevant for the future are the December results: 

- Diesel sales dropped 14%, with their share of the market stumbling from 67% a year ago, to 58%, a sharp 9% drop;

- Regular Petrol/Gasoline car sales grew 22%, with the sales share growing 6%, to 34%;

- Electrified models grew significantly, not only HEVs (+36%), but especially BEVs (+144%) and PHEVs (+154%), with this category earning 2% share, to 6% of the mainstream market;

- Even LPG grew significantly (+65%) in December, now representing close to 2% of the sales, which means that Diesel is losing sales to every other fuel, accentuating its demise.

In the models PEV ranking, after years of underwelming performances, the Renault Zoe has finally spread its wings, leading the market in 2017 with a record 751 registrations, winning its first Best Seller trophy, but BMW's company-car friendly lineup, (Companies have VAT-exemption when buying plug-ins up to a certain price) have been shining lately, as more and more fleet managers realize the advantages of buying plug-ins PHEVs, proof of that are the Second Place of the BMW 330e and Third Place of the 530e, with this last model being also the Rookie of the Year.

Last year winner, the Nissan Leaf, was pushed out of the podium in the last month of the year, but with the revised 40kWh version landing in a few months, aided by the usual aggressive pricing of the local Nissan importer, the Japanese hatchback is set to regain the #1 spot in 2018.

Looking elsewhere, the Mercedes GLC350e SUV replicated the success earned in other markets, by reaching #7 last year, ending as the best selling three-pointed-star model, cannibalizing sales of its C350e relative, which dropped from Second to Eighth.

Further down the ranking, the Mercedes E350e and Mini Countryman PHEV had successful landings in 2017, while the new Smart brand BEVs were off to a great start, jumping into the Top 20, with the #14 Fortwo ED scoring a record 35 units last month, while the #20 Forfour ED also scored a best ever 16 registrations. A promising start, let's hope the Daimler Mothership can make enough units to satisfy demand.

The official landing of Tesla is starting to bear fruits, with deliveries up four fold, to 153 units and 4% share, but because their models pricing stand outside the VAT incentives, the real attack on Mercedes and BMW sales will only happen in 2019, when the Model 3 arrives...

Speaking of manufacturers, BMW revalidated the 2016 title in '17, with 30% share, followed by Renault (18%) and Mercedes (13%, down 1%).

As a side note, Volkswagen in Portugal has only 6% share, half of what it has in Europe, while its Premium daughter, Audi has...0% share.

Pl	Portugal	Dec.	2017	%	Pl '16
1 2	Renault Zoe BMW 330e	94 39	751 352	18 8	6 7
3	BMW 530e	58	327	8	N/A
4	Nissan Leaf	23	318	7	1
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 17 18 19 20 21 21 22 22 22 26 26 28	BMW i3 Mitsu. Outlander PHEV Mercedes GLC350e Mercedes C350e BMW 225xe Active Tourer Volkswagen Passat GTE Volvo V60 Plug-In Mercedes E350e Mini Countryman PHEV Smart Fortwo ED Toyota Prius PHEV Tesla Model S   e) Volkswagen Golf GTE Tesla Model X   e) Kia Soul EV Smart Forfour ED Volkswagen e-Golf BMW X5 40e Hyundai Ioniq Electric BMW 740e Volvo XC90 PHEV Volkswagen e-Up! Kia Niro PHEV Porsche Panamera PHEV	38 28 13 9 19 19 12 33 20 35 10 7 15 7 2 16 1 3 1 5 5 9 4	281 240 219 215 197 147 118 114 98 90 81 81 76 72 60 47 43 43 24 24 24 20 20 19	7 6 5 5 5 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0	4 3 22 2 13 10 5 N/A N/A 31 27 17 8 26 11 N/A 18 10 N/A 23 28 23 N/A N/A
29 30	Audi A3 e-Tron Audi Q7 e-Tron Others	2 34	18 16 102	0 0 2	28 31
	TOTAL	561	4.237	100

Source: ACAP

Plug-ins and Regular Hybrids

Pl	Model	Dec. Sales
1	Toyota Auris Hybrid	162
2	Toyota Yaris Hybrid	132
3	Toyota C-HR Hybrid	119
4	Renault Zoe	94
5	BMW 530e	58

As plug-ins reach new heights, it starts to be interesting to compare them with regular hybrids, here a class still owned by Toyota, as the local Hyundai/Kia importers are still unaware of this niche potential, that has also grown significantly, as people leave their diesel-addiction for electrified models.

Nevertheless, the Third Place seems attainable by plug-ins, so in the near future the Toyota domination is likely to be dented, not only by the Renault Zoe, but especially by the arrival of the new Nissan Leaf, that could sell regularly above the 100 units/month threshhold.

The Fifth Place of the BMW 530e is a surprise, but it is also another sign that companies are leaving their diesel addiction and going electric.