 |
| A new face in the Top 20? |
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV reaches the podium
The European passenger
plug-in market registered some 37,000 registrations in May, growing 28%
regarding the same period last year, a good performance considering the
stagnating performance (+0.04%) of the overall market.
In
May, all-electrics had some 24,000 deliveries, having been responsible for 63%
of all plugin sales last month, with the BEV share at 1.6%, while adding PHEVs
to the tally, the share jumps to 2.6%, placing the 2019 PEV share at 2.9% (1.9%
for BEVs alone), above the 2.5% result of 2018.
Looking
at other fuels, diesel sales continue its never-ending slide, with its share dropping
from 36% to the current 32%.
The
big news in May was the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV reaching the runner-up spot,
for the first time since January.
Interestingly,
despite the landing of the Tesla Model 3, all the remaining Top 5 Best Sellers had
30%-plus growth rates, which is good news, as unlike the USA, the Model 3 isn’t
drying sales from other EVs, but helping them to thrive.
Looking at the Monthly Models Ranking:
#1 Renault Zoe – The 4,106 deliveries of May signaled a 62% growth rate for the French
hatchback, an impressive performance, considering the much improved “new” Zoe
and the upcoming Peugeot 208 EV (and Opel Corsa EV, etc), are just a few months
away. As for market individual performances, the Zoe continues as popular as
ever in its domestic market (1,331 units, up 23% YoY), and there also were
positive numbers in Germany (875 units), and Italy (448 units, new record), in this
last market Renault is benefitting from the new incentives to reach new heights,
beating its personal best performance for the second time in a row.
#2 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – The
Japanese SUV seems unfazed by the passing of time and the arrival of new
models, being the only PHEV able to follow the pace of the Best Selling BEVs,
with the Mitsubishi model scoring 3,286 registrations
in May (up 121%!), continuing to be popular in the UK (700 units), but interestingly,
the main market for the Outlander is now Germany, with a record 957
registrations, with other markets also racking large number of units (Sweden –
365; Norway – 310; France – 223). This is a case study of a PHEV succeeding in
a BEV-friendly environment, but in the long run, one wonders how long the
Outlander PHEV will resist to the BEV wave, although, with no direct BEV
competitor in the short term, the Mitsubishi model could still pick up a lot of
sales this year without major worries.
#3 Tesla Model 3 – After a deliveries peak
in March, the posterchild for electromobility has dropped to more normal performances, with Tesla
delivering 2,849 units of its sports
sedan, while it prepares itself for another high tide in June. Looking
at individual markets, the midsize model was mainly delivered in Norway (705
units), Germany (317), Netherlands (419) and Sweden (198).
#4 BMW i3 – The German hot hatch sales
were up 56% in May, to 2,718 units,
with the BMW pocket rocket benefitting from its unique formula (it is the only
Premium City EV in town) to continue progressing its sales, following the
EV bubble growth. Looking at individual countries, Germany (878 units), Norway
(344) and the UK (310) were the main markets. Looking into 2019, expect the
Star Wars-inspired EV to continue growing fast, so it should continue to be a
regular face in this Top 5.
#5 Volkswagen e-Golf – Volkswagen’s electric
Golf managed to reach the 5th spot in May, with 1,993 units, up 34% YoY, an amazing performance, considering the
Wolfsburg Mother Ship has entered in full-ID-mode, advertising
the new BEV family like if it didn’t had already one successful model in the
market. But then again, I guess VW knows the ID.3 appeals to a different kind of
public (more extrovert), regarding the current e-Golf audience, that prefers to
go EV unnoticed. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the German maker decided to
keep both the e-Golf and the ID.3 sharing the VW dealerships for a while…But
back at the e-Golf performance in May, the main markets were Norway (779
deliveries), Germany (310), and the UK (290).
Looking at the 2019 ranking, the main news was the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV surpassing the Nissan
Leaf and reaching the 3rd spot, returning to the podium for the
first time since February, with the Japanese SUV being the only plugin hybrid
in the Top 7 positions.
As for the Nissan hatchback,
it really needs a shot of the 62 kWh version registrations, to stop losing
further spots, as the #5 BMW i3 is closing in fast.
Speaking of BMW, there
was only one other change in the Top 10, to the benefit of the BMW Group model
Mini Countryman PHEV, that climbed one position, to #8.
On the second half
of the table, things remained relatively stable, with the Audi e-Tron slowly continuing
to climb positions, with the German SUV now in #14, while the #11 Jaguar i-Pace,
after surpassing the Kia Niro EV, is now looking to surpass the #10 BMW 530e,
just 263 units away.
The #17 Smart
Fortwo EV scored 980 units, its best result in the last 16 months, a promising
result for the rumored 30 kWh battery update later this year.
In #18, we now
have the Land Rover Range Rover Sport PHEV, a model almost the size of its
name, that managed to surpass the Volvo XC90 PHEV, with the British SUV now
becoming this year’s new Best-Selling plugin hybrid Yacht.
Below this ranking,
we should notice the good performance of the new Mercedes E300e/de twins, with 833
registrations last month, a new record for the plugin E-Class, placing the
nameplate just 200 units from the Top 20, but another full-size plugin car is
closer to join the Top 20, with the Tesla Model S being just 104 units behind
the #20 Volvo V60 PHEV.
With the Tesla
tide expected to have a peak in June, the Model S should join the Top 20
next month, and even the Model X (642 units in May, 2,481 YTD) might have a
shot at reaching #20.
In the manufacturers
ranking, Tesla (15%, down 1%) is the leader, while last year winner BMW (14%, up
1%) is a recovering runner-up, but with June’s Tesla deliveries peak, expect
the California-based maker to jump ahead again.
Renault (10%, up
1%) is in the 3rd spot, with Hyundai and Mitsubishi not far behind,
with 8%.
