Europe June 2018

Renault Zoe beats Nissan Leaf

The European passenger plug-in market continues pushing forward, by registering some 38,000 registrations, up 37% regarding the same period last year and the second best performance ever, pulling the Year-to-date count to some 185,000 deliveries (+43% YoY), while the 2018 market share was up to 2.2% (2.4% in June).

This time, BEVs grew slower (+20%) than PHEVs (+55%). Will we see all-electrics bounce back in the second half of the year?

Looking at Europe’s fuel mix, diesel continues to drop significantly (-16% YoY) in a growing market (+5.2%), while all other fuels (including CNG, LPG…) are on the rise, profiting from the diesel-fleeing stampede, at this pace, the new registrations of diesel-powered vehicles will be virtually dead by 2025…  

June saw the Renault Zoe beat the Nissan Leaf for the first time since February, with BEVs continuing to own the top positions, while the Tesla Model S profited from the usual last-month-of-quarter peak to join the Top 5 in #4.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV managed to score another Top 5 presence, winning at the same time the bestselling PHEV award.

Among models that landed in 2018, the Best Selling one is the Land Rover Range Rover Sport PHEV, that registered 235 units in June, adding to the current 498 registrations made this year.

  

Looking at the Monthly Models Ranking:

#1 Renault Zoe – June’s 3,425 deliveries meant a 16% drop for the French hatchback, but nevertheless, it allowed the Renault BEV to narrowly beat its Japanese cousin and become the Best Seller in June. The French automaker is running to satisfy the Zoe orders, and with the production output set to increase in a couple of months, expect the model to increase registrations and give the its Leaf cousin a run for the money in the second half of the year. As for individual market performances, the domestic market did the usual heavy lifting, by registering 1,928 units, with other significant numbers coming from Germany (465 units), Norway (183) and the Netherlands (130).   

#2 Nissan Leaf –The 2.0 version of the most common plug-in in the world continues to expand its sales, by registering 3,377 units in June, doubling the result of last year, and with the orders list still to be satisfied in a few countries, expect the Leaf to continue running for #1. But back at June performance, the main markets were Norway (1,152 deliveries), UK (500), France (469), The Netherlands (251) and Portugal (158).

#3 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – Solid as a rock, despite a revised version being weeks from landing, the Japanese SUV secured yet another Best-Selling PHEV of the Month award and a podium presence in June, thanks to 2,174 registrations, up an amazing 46%, the nameplate highest growth rate in years. This exceptional performance is possibly explained by a stock clearance event, as the (slightly) revised version is set to arrive on Q3 2018, so the Mitsubishi plug-in SUV will continue to offer its unique mix of space, AWD and affordability (40.000€), with the added bonus of a larger electric range (28 mi/45 kms real world range) and more power (+15 hp) at hand, keeping it popular in markets like the UK, Norway or Sweden, all registering around 500 registrations/month. Going forward, the Japanese SUV is expected to keep wearing its Europe’s Best-Selling PHEV crown in the foreseeable future.

#4 Tesla Model S – The Sports Sedan had its best June ever in Europe, thanks to 2,105 deliveries, up 52% YoY. This is an impressive result for the Californian, not only because it’s been around in the Old Continent since 2013, but especially because the Model 3 is just six months away from crossing The Pond and land on this side of the Atlantic, which could already make a shadow over its older (and more expensive) sibling, eclipsing its sales. So far it hasn’t been the case, with the nameplate’s 2018 sales performance actually growing 14% YoY. Looking at individual countries, besides Norway’s usual contribution (467 units), the Netherlands have registered a record month, with 650 deliveries, while Germany and the UK also had significant contributions, with some 200 registrations in both countries.

#5 BMW i3 – The German Hot Hatch sales increased slightly (+21% YoY) in June, with 2,002 units being delivered, and with the Leipzig factory expected to grow output towards the end of the year, thanks to the upcoming 44kWh version, do not expect the Bavarian carmaker to be worried with its quirky looking hatchback sales performance. Looking at individual countries, this time Germany (509 units, 399 of them being BEV) was the largest market for the i3, displacing Norway (335), with France (182) rounding the Top 3 absorbers of the BMW electric model.

 

Tesla models climb positions

Looking at the 2018 ranking, the top positions remained the same, with the headlining news being the Tesla Model S climbing to #6, and underlining a positive month for Tesla, the Model X jumped five positions, to #11, thanks to 1,829 units, a new Year Best.

Other changes in the Top 20 were the BMW 225xe Active Tourer climbing two positions to #17, thanks to a record 1,555 units, while its British cousin, the Mini Countryman PHEV, joined the Top 20, in #18, hitting also a record performance (1,556 registrations).

With June being the Second Best selling month ever, there were a bunch of record performances, besides the previously mentioned, the Volvo XC60 PHEV delivered a record 1,327 deliveries, while the BMW 530e continues on its expanding streak, having delivered a record 1,266 units in June.

Outside the Top 20, the BMW X5 PHEV delivered a record 857 units, while another giant SUV, the Audi Q7 e-Tron, had its best month (428 units) in 18 months, this sudden peak in the flagship PHEV SUVs has to do with mid-year fiscal changes in a number of countries, added to the new WLTP cycle, that will increase significantly the prices of short range PHEVs.

A final reference for the revised BMW i8, that with 275 deliveries, had its best result ever(!) since it landed in 2014. 

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, last year winner BMW (17%) is in the lead, with the runner-up Volkswagen (13%, down 1%), losing a bit of ground to the leader, while Nissan (10%) is keeping the Bronze medal, with its cousin Renault (9%) close to the podium positions, ahead of Volvo (8%) and Tesla (7%).