Iceland December 2019

25% Share!

After years of three digit sales growth, registrations were down in 2019 (-16%) this year, but because the mainstream market is dropping like a rock (-32%(!) YoY), the PEV share managed to keep on growing, with 2019 ending at a record 25%, up from 19% in 2018, and 14% in 2017, making it the 2nd highest share in the world. 

Which begs the question: How much further north of 30% PEV share will the final 2020 share be?

Looking at this year Best Sellers in the Models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV won another title, its 4th in a row, with 603 units, confirming its popularity in this market, while doubling the result of the runner-up Nissan Leaf got yet another runner-up spot, its 4th in a row. (Am i seeing a pattern here?...)

In the remaining podium position, the surprise was the VW e-Golf displacing the usual Bronze medalist Volvo XC90 PHEV (which was down to 5th), to win a podium position, the first for the German brand since 2016, when the VW Golf GTE was also 3rd.

Elsewhere, a mention to two new models that have big ambitions for 2020, with the new BMW X5 PHEV (added with a few units of the old generation) ending in 10th, tied with another newcomer, the new VW Passat GTE, that inclusively won the December trophy, which says a lot about the possibilities of the VW midsizer here.

Will we see major changes in the podium this year?

In the brands ranking, Mitsubishi (21%) won the trophy, its 4th (3rd in a row), with Volvo (12%) ending in Second, while #3 Nissan (10%) fought a hard race with Kia and Volkswagen to keep the 3rd place, managing to end ahead of them by a thread.

In a market where plugins are hovering above 20% share, plug-ins are becoming common on the overall best sellers, despite not having full access to the mainstream models ranking, what we have got is enough to make a draft.

As such, the best selling model was the Toyota RAV4, thanks to the Hybrid version, followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, with the Dacia Duster closing the podium, while the Nissan Leaf managed to end the year with tin the Top 10.