Porsche, Mercedes and Smart shine
The German PEV passenger car market continues on the right track in April, having registered 7,771 units, with BEVs growing at a faster pace (+50% YoY), than PHEVs (+14%), contributing to an all-electric share in 2019 of 67%, far above the 2018 result (53%).
With the mainstream market stagnated (-3%), the PEV Share was at 2.5% in April, with BEVs alone hitting 1.5%, leading to a YTD plugin share of 2.5% (1.5% BEV).
Looking at April Best Sellers, the Renault Zoe managed to outsell the Tesla Model 3, that remained in chill mode throughout the month, after a Ludicrous March, the American sedan had to be contented with the 4th spot, losing out to the aforementioned Renault model, as well as the #2 BMW i3 hot hatch and the evergreen #3 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
But the surprise of the month came in #9, with the Porsche Panamera PHEV scoring 291 units, a new record for the Porsche nameplate, after the WLTP hiccup, it seems the German Sports Sedan is back on top of its form, something that provides good signs for the career of upcoming Porsche Taycan.
Pl
|
Model
|
Sales
|
1
|
Renault Zoe
|
939
|
2
|
BMW i3
|
762
|
3
|
Mit. Outlander PHEV
|
663
|
4
| Tesla Model 3 |
514
|
5
|
VW e-Golf
|
489
|
The German PEV market is known for close races and constant changes, and last month was no exception, first of all, the Tesla Model 3 is still the leader, but the Renault Zoe is just 43 units behind, so it will be an interesting race to follow in the coming months.
The Daimler Group had a positive month, with the Mercedes E300e/de PHEV jumping to #14, thanks to 284 deliveries, the taxi model best result in 15 months, while both Smart models climbed in the ranking, with the Fortwo EV climbing one place, to #8, thanks to 428 deliveries, while its (slightly) bigger brother Forfour EV jumped three spots, to #12, thanks to 280 registrations, both scoring Year Best performances in April.
Outside the Top 20, we should mention the record 85 deliveries of the Jaguar i-Pace, with the British Sports-Crossover-SUV-Thingy, now in #22, just 24 units from knocking on heaven's door the Top 20.
In the brands ranking, BMW (18%, up 1%) is the leader, with Tesla in the rear view mirror, with 14% share (down 2%), ahead of the #3 Renault (11%, down 1%).
Outside the podium, we have Hyundai and Mitsubishi, both with 7% share.
Outside the podium, we have Hyundai and Mitsubishi, both with 7% share.
Tesla Model 3 & the ICE competition
Pl
|
Model
|
2019
Sales |
1
|
Mercedes C-Class
|
21,595
|
2
|
Audi A4
|
17,905
|
3
|
BMW 3-Series
|
12,053
|
4
|
Audi A5
|
6,699
|
5
6 |
BMW 4-Series
Tesla Model 3 |
3,883
3,699 |
One of the question marks around the Model 3 in Europe, regarded the impact that it was going to make on this side of the Atlantic, will it disrupt the PEV and ICE sedan market in the same way that it is doing in the US, or will it be more subdued, because it is playing away from home.
The answer is now being written, comparing the Model 3 full year deliveries against its midsize premium competitors, we can see that the local heroes are still significantly ahead, with only the BMW 4-Series close to be surpassed.
Nevertheless, in a backdrop of falling sales (midzise cars are down 11% YoY), the Tesla nameplate performance is impressive, considering that the car has given a couple of months of advance to the competition in the beggining of the year.
Also interesting to see, not all models are being affected in the same way by the arrival of the Model 3 and the overall category falling sales, while the Audi A4/A5 and BMW 4-Series are experiencing two digit drops, the Mercedes C-Class sales are flat, with the Merc model surpassing the Audi A4 and becoming the class best Seller.
This confirms what we have seen in other markets, with Mercedes resisting well to the Model 3 landing, while BMW and Audi have been suffering.
Also interesting to see, not all models are being affected in the same way by the arrival of the Model 3 and the overall category falling sales, while the Audi A4/A5 and BMW 4-Series are experiencing two digit drops, the Mercedes C-Class sales are flat, with the Merc model surpassing the Audi A4 and becoming the class best Seller.
This confirms what we have seen in other markets, with Mercedes resisting well to the Model 3 landing, while BMW and Audi have been suffering.
However, Tesla did perform much worse in April than in March. This is concerning as this seems to be an Europeanwide trend. On the other side it is a mystery why VW eGolf sells nearly as much as Model 3. Also BMW i3 sales are exuberant. In this context the sales start of the ID3 will be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteApril is not too significant for Tesla, but if in June deliveries are not strong, then questions will be made.
DeleteThe VW e-Golf sales are really surprising, it seems the electric version of the Golf benefits from the name recognition to continue selling in large numbers.
How many ships with Teslas went to Evrope in may?
ReplyDeleteYou mean departed, or arrived? The journey takes about three weeks...
DeleteThere are two ships that departed in April -- one arrived earlier in May, one to arrive in a couple of days -- and one ship thus far departed in May, to arrive in June. Since the beginning of Q2, they are departing roughly every two weeks.
(See http://bit.ly/TeslaCarriers for a table, or https://twitter.com/EcoHeliGuy for live updates.)
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJose,
ReplyDeleteThe Kia e-Niro and the Opel Ampera-e:
How are they doing in Germany?
Are they also knocking on the door of the top 20 in Germany?
Cheers,
Kia: Yes.
DeleteOpel: No.
José, your blog is an entertaining read but I notice your wording is somewhat mismatching and confusing.
ReplyDeleteOn a last note, your interpretation about the potential impact of Tesla Model 3 on BMW 3 and 4 series, including on the Audi A4, isn't very accurate. People should know old cycle models do not attract same level of sales as new models do, so, for a BMW 4 series still being able to pull 3883 registrations so far in the year (without any PHEV even!), when it is in the last months of his lifecycle, is something very few can do and many carmakers wish they could too. What to say about the Audi A4 then, when a facelift has just been disclosed.
In Germany, none of the C-class, 3-series or A4 have something to fear from the Model 3, all of them have what Tesla will never be able to pull of: a station wagon.
On wording, this is not meant to be more than it is, a blog that is written in my (few) spare hours, so there's no time for much editing.
DeleteI agree that the 4-Series in on an end-cycle, so it is natural that with our without the Model 3, numbers would be in the red.
But that isn't the case regarding the Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4, both still in mid-cycle life, the fact that one (Merc) is holding on quite well, while the other is falling significantly does tell a story, that is why the A4 refresh is said to be deeper than initially antecipated.
Is there actual data suggesting the Mercedes PHEVs are used as taxis? I'm somewhat sceptical about that. For one, at least here in Berlin, Taxis are no longer synonymous with Mercedes: the vast majority of new taxis introduced in the last decade or so are Prius, or sometimes other Toyota hybrids or less premium German brands. (VW, Opel.)
ReplyDeleteThere is still occasionally a new Mercedes sedan, but not all that often around here. And I have doubts that any of these are PHEVs... A PHEV simply doesn't make sense for the usage pattern of a taxi fleet. (Unless it's another case of badly designed incentives encouraging purchase of PHEVs without any intention of ever actually charging them...)
Maybe not, it's just something i have on the back of my mind, for me the E-Class is synonym with old taxis with similarly old drivers. Stupid thought, i know.
DeleteAnd yet, the only time i used Uber Black, it was a brand new E-Class. So, it could be that E-Classes are now synonym with Uber Black. Maybe, maybe not. Just a thought.