Portugal May 2018

Renault Zoe: An increasingly common sight in Lisbon

Nissan Leaf goes after #1 in (almost) Record Month

PEV Sales continue on the fast track in Portugal, with May close to register a new record month, with 738 deliveries (3.1% PEV share, up 163% YoY), keeping the 2018 Plug-in Share at 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 9%, with May registering a meagre 51% share for the troubled fuel, while all others increased their sales. At this rate, i wouldn't be surprised if diesel sales would be dead in Portugal by 2024/25... 

Last month brilliant result had a strong tailwind from the Nissan Leaf, as the 220 deliveries became a new all-time monthly record for a single model, as the local delivers the long waiting list for the Japanese hatchback, said to be close to 900 units a few months ago.

With this surge in sales, the Leaf is closing in fast on the leader Renault Zoe, which incidentally, had its worst result of the past 6 months. Will we see the Nissan BEV overcome the French cousin next month?

Moving on, the BMW i3 jumped three positions, to Sixth, thanks to 44 sales, a new record for the German hot hatch, with the particular allure of all units being of the BEV variety.

One importer that seemed to have woken up to plug-ins is Volkswagen, with the Passat GTE delivering a record 30 units, leaping 7 positions to #11, while the Golf GTE also had a record result, with 30 deliveries, allowing it to joint the Top 20, in #18.

Still, Volkswagen only has 6% share in Portugal, far from the 14% it gathers in Europe, so there's a lot of space to grow...

...Speaking of manufacturers, in the respective ranking, BMW (23%) is on top, followed by Renault (18%), in Second Place, while Nissan (15%) is in the last place of the podium, closing in on its French cousin.