Portugal April 2018

Renault Zoe: An increasingly common sight in Lisbon

Record Month

PEV Sales continue on the fast track in Portugal, with April registering a new record month, with 774 sales (3.6% PEV share), and the 2018 Plug-in Share climbing to a record 2.7%, so there's good reasons to be optimistic and even hope for a 3-4% share by year end.

Looking at the fuels mix, this market is known for its diesel-addiction, due to an unbalanced taxation between gasoline (heavily taxed) and diesel (not so much), but even here, these are historic times, with diesel sales down 8%, with April registering a meagre 51% share for the troubled fuel, while all others increased their sales, some of them spectacularly, like LPG (+171%), and all other Alternative Fuels (CNG, HEV, PHEV, BEV) grew over 75% YoY. At this rate, i wouldn't be surprised if diesel sales would be dead in Portugal by 2024... 

But to be fair, this April had a strong tailwind helping out sales, as the EMOV car-sharing company registered 146 Citroen C-Zero in April, a decisive contribution for the record numbers, but it is also a sign that car-sharing has been picking up steam charge in Lisbon, after the good results that the BMW-supported Drivenow company has shown in that city, and even if EVs are a small part of the operation (With data showing that the BMW i3's of the fleet have the highest utilization rate of the lineup), it was enough for the PSA-supported car-sharing company to also launch itself into Lisbon, and with the added bonus of a 100% BEV fleet.

So, following on the success of Madrid, will we see also the Renault-supported car-sharing company, Zity, reaching Lisbon in a near future?

Moving on, so far the Renault Zoe continues to be where it ended 2017, which means, in the lead, with over twice as much registrations as the new runner-up, the Nissan Leaf.

But the new generation of the Japanese hatchback won't be an easy running mate, in only its second full month on the market, the Nissan BEV has already beaten its French cousin (125 vs 103), which is a first in the last 12 months, and the first time it reached the three digits in this market, although this is just the first of many, with a waiting list said to be in the 600 units, the local importer is limited by the Sunderland factory constraints to deliver all units at once, so expect several months of +/-200 units in the near future, just to deliver the units already ordered.

This will of course limit the 2018 Best Seller race to just two models, with the 2017 winner Renault Zoe trying to defend the title from the four times winner (2010, '11, '14, '16) Nissan Leaf.

The following places are in the hands of company-car friendly cars (BMW 530e, BMW 330e), while the aforementioned Citroen C-Zero leaped to #5, due to the EMOV deal, while the Smart Fortwo ED continues to be popular, in #6, having delivered 41 units last month, a new best for the nameplate.

Looking below, the Kia Niro PHEV joined the Top 20, in #20, thanks to another good deliveries month, it has been said the local Kia importer has been having difficulties to have their share of plug-ins from the mothership, confirming once again the serious production constraints that Hyundai-Kia is experiencing, and validating the phrase: "Hyundai-Kia plug-ins are great...But good luck finding one!".

In the manufacturers ranking, BMW (23%) is back on top, displacing Renault (21%) to Second Place, while Nissan (10%) jumped to Third, removing Mercedes (9%) from the podium.

Pl	Portugal	April	YTD	%
1	Renault Zoe	103	485	21
2	Nissan Leaf	125	230	10
3	BMW 530e	72	216	9
4	BMW 330e	81	171	7
5	Citroen C-Zero	146	153	7
6	Smart Fortwo ED	41	107	5
7	Mercedes GLC350e	25	106	5
8	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	26	82	4
9	BMW i3	9	75	3
10	Volvo XC60 PHEV	19	70	3
11	BMW 225xe Active Tourer	3	66	3
12	Smart Forfour ED	15	53	2
13	Mini Countryman PHEV		49	2
14	Volvo V60 PHEV	17	47	2
15	Mercedes E350e	9	45	2
16	Mercedes C350e	7	44	2
17	VW Passat GTE	6	41	2
18	Hyundai Ioniq Electric	7	31	1
19	Toyota Prius PHEV	4	30	1
20	Kia Niro PHEV	9	27	1
	Others	50	165	7
	TOTAL	774	2293	100

Source: ACAP