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| BMW X5 PHEV: Ready to tackle the Belgian Alps... |
BMW X5 PHEV #1 in November in PHEV uprising
November confirmed the return to the PHEV-addiction in Belgium, allowing plugin sales to grow 34%, to 1.471 passenger vehicles registered, pulling the YTD tally to 15.556 units, with PHEVs representing 68% of registrations in November, a significant contrast to the 50% share of the 2019 tally.
Last month result (4.2%), pulled the 2019 PEV share to 3.0%, a new record in this market.
In November, the best selling 4 models were PHEVs, with the new BMW X5 PHEV winning its first monthly best seller award since May 2017, thanks to 206 registrations, the nameplate best performance since June '17, followed by the Volvo XC60 PHEV (142 units), Mercedes E300e/de (109) and the Mini Countryman PHEV (85).
The 2019 leader Tesla Model 3 was only 5th last month, with 84 units, but the 2019 title is more than assured, with the Californian almost doubling sales of the #2 Volvo XC60 PHEV.
Despite the slow month of the leader Model 3 (the Netherlands are gobbling up every Model 3 they can get their hands…), the other Tesla nameplates actually had positive months, with the Model S climbing one position to #12, while the Model X registered 50 units, its best off-peak month since May '18.
The Climber of the Month was the Mercedes E300e/de, that registered 109 units, a new personal best for the luxury sedan, jumping three spots to #11, while the arch-rival BMW also had reasons to smile about, with the new 330e climbing to #14, the new X5 PHEV joining the Top 20, in #17, and the Mini Countryman PHEV was up one spot, to 9th.
Outside the Top 20, the new Audi Q5 PHEV is ramping up deliveries, having registered 77 units last month, while the revised VW Passat GTE had its full sales month, with 23 units. Expect both to be contenders for a Top 20 position next year.
In the manufacturers ranking, things have become interesting last month, with Tesla (19%, down 1%) losing significant ground to a rising BMW (17%, up 3%), while Volvo (13%, down 1%) is relegated to a distant 3rd spot.
Will BMW be able to remove Tesla from the leadership in the last days of 2019, and celebrate its 4th Manufacturers ranking in a row?
In normal circumstances, Tesla would be safe because December is a peak month and that alone would be enough to secure the first spot. But the neighboring Netherlands is starving other of Model 3 units, so anything can happen...
...So bring on the popcorn Belgian fries and beer, and enjoy the final stage of the race!
Yeah, that and Model 3 deliveries reaching 3000 units for 2019.
ReplyDeletePoor Belgians: all these Model 3s passing through Zeebrugge, yet they get hardly any of them ;-)
ReplyDeleteIronic, isn't it?
DeleteWeird: while the newly (re-)introduced PHEV models are doing well, along with a handful of other PHEV and BEV models, most other models (both BEV and PHEV) are really down this month -- in many cases without any obvious reason I can think of. Any idea what's going on here?...
ReplyDeleteNovelty factor?
DeleteRefreshes in the wings, and manufacturers holding off until 2020?
DeleteYeah, I remembered that at least some makers are delaying deliveries till next year -- so that would be a plausible explanation...
DeleteJudging by the number of ships in Q4 (16) vs Q3 (12) and the loading time, 45 days vs 30 days, my guess is that the export from the USA is 50% higher than in Q3.
ReplyDeleteThis can't be all for those frugal Dutch lease buyers. Norway is also extremely low. Where are all those Model 3 cars? Still on the quai in Zeebrugge?
The low number of Model 3 in Belgium surprises me. Or is the first wave that landed in Zeebrugge going to the new markets in central- and South-Europe?
To replace Tesla as the leading brand, BMW has to beat Tesla by approximate 350 vehicles in the last month of the quarter. That is a big order to fill.
Tesla - The only good result i see so far in Europe is in Ireland (136 units), which probably is still people that had been waiting on the waiting list for years. The rest is underperforming.
DeleteBut some important Asian markets are still starting to receive their Model 3's, so part of the production could be going that way.
There were actually 13 ships in Q3: the last one that left in late June only arrived in July, and thus should be counted for Q3 -- just like the one that left in late September is counted for Q4...
DeleteOn the other hand, Q4 might still see a last-minute ship from Philadelphia, like Q3 did...
Either way, both Europe and Asia are seeing more ships coming in Q4 than in Q3.
(Europe got less overhang from the previous quarter though, so deliveries might in fact end up only slightly better -- or even slightly lower, if they don't send another ship...)