Europe February 2020 (Updated)

Renault Zoe leader in hot market (for now) 

The European passenger plug-in market registered over 69,000 registrations in February (+111%), with the 2020 plugin market growing 117%, to some 144,000 units, a great performance that should help to weaken the effect of the upcoming coronavirus months, where sales will most likely fall abruptly throughout the continent.

It will be curious to know, though, when it come to plugin share, what will happen, will PEVs weather the storm by gaining significant share, and go north of 10% share? Discuss. 

In February, despite a falling (-7% YoY) overall market, PHEVs continue on fire (+153% YoY), but all-electrics (+88%) are not much behind too, with these last ones being responsible for 57% of all plugin sales last month (55% YTD), while the BEV share climbed to 3.7%, and adding PHEVs to the tally, the share climbs to 6.5%, placing the 2020 PEV share at 6.5% (3.6% for BEVs alone), well above the 3.6% result of 2019.

The big news in February continues to be the strong start of the Renault Zoe, that scored 6,439 registrations, more than doubling last year result in the same month, while the veteran VW e-Golf scored a record performance (3,770 units) for the second month in a row(!), securing the runner-up spot, while the Tesla Model 3, after a weak January, returned to its usual self, reaching the 3rd spot last month, with 3,589 units, as it prepares to go after the Second spot in March.

Interestingly, this month we have a 100% BEV Top 5, which i believe will start to be a common feature, throughout the year...

Looking at the February Top 5 Models:

#1 Renault Zoe – The 6,439 deliveries of February not only allowed it to beat the competition by a sizeable margin, but also to double registrations, regarding last year, possibly providing the French hatchback enough distance to sustain the expected Model 3 surge in March, and continue leading the European ranking during the Corona months. As for individual market performances, the French hatchback continues as popular as ever in its domestic market (3,076 units), and in Germany (1,352 units), with Italy (385) and Spain (317) helping along to the Renault nameplate success.

#2 VW e-Golf – The evergreen German model hit a record 3,770 units last month, its second in a row(!), an amazing result for a model that was supposed to be in sunset-mode, and has its sucessor ramping up production in the Zwickau factory. It seems VW is going all in into plugins (well, with the CO2 rules now in place, it has to), milking everything it can from its current best selling electric model. Regarding February performances, the Volkswagen EV main markets were Germany (1,475), Netherlands (485), Norway (755) and the UK (250).

#3 Tesla Model 3 – Preparing the March deliveries peak, the posterchild for electromobility had its expected mid-quarter ramp up month, with 3,589 deliveries, with the sports sedan getting ready to go after the leadership in the coming months. Back at February, looking at individual markets, the midsize model was mainly delivered in France (1,025 units), Germany (610), and the UK (450).  

#4 Peugeot 208 EV – The French hatchback hit 3,478 units last month, down some 400 units regarding January, which was probably artificially inflated by the new CO2 rules. Considering that its career is barely starting, it is early to know the actual demand limits of the Peugeot EV, and with the upcoming months also watching a Coronavirus-related sales drought, we won't know it anywhere soon. Last month, its home market (2,495 units) pulled out the heavy lifting, but it wasn’t just France doing all the hard work, as Italy (287) and Spain (227) also helped the Peugeot EV to reach the runner up spot.

#5 Nissan Leaf – The Japanese model hit 2,570 units last month, down just 5%. It seems the recent discounts are indeed helping to move metal, with the Nissan EV profiting from the current lack of strong competition in the compact class, at least until a certain VW ID.3 lands…But back at February performances, the Japanese EV main markets were Norway (484 deliveries), France (283), Germany (283), and the UK (400).

Editor Note: Dear readers, at the time of publishing, i had forgotten to update the country performances of each of the Top 5 Best Sellers, i am sorry for the mistake and for any inconvenience that may have caused.  

Looking at the 2020 ranking, if the podium positions remained stable (for now), the main news was the Tesla Model 3 jumping 8 spots, to 6th, but it wasn't the only pure EV rising, as the Audi e-Tron was up to #7, confirming its Best Selling Luxury PEV status, while the Hyundai Kona EV and BMW i3 also had reasons to smile, with Korean crossover climbing to #8 and the German hatchback, to #12 (which is still well below the 5th spot of 2019). 

On the second half of the table, there were plenty of changes, the most relevant being the three new faces, with the Volvo S/V60 PHEV twins jumping to #15, thanks to 1,885 units, the nameplate's best score since 2015, while the Kia Niro PHEV returned to the ranking, in #18, thanks to 1,238 units, a new record for the PHEV crossover. In fact, Kia had a great month, with the Niro EV scoring 1,552 units, its best result in a year, and the Soul EV registering 930 units, its best result since 2018.

Finally, we salute the small VW e-Up! in the Top 20, that thanks to 1,542 units (a new record), it jumped to #17, if we add its Czech Citigo EV (841 units) and Spanish e-Mii (436) twins, the triplets would have 2,819 units, which would place it in #5 on last month ranking. Who said City EVs weren't a thing?...

Outside the Top 20, we should notice the good performances of the new Mercedes C300e/de twins, with 1,048 registrations last month, the Opel Ampera-e (Euro-spec Chevrolet Bolt) ending its career on high note, by scoring a record result, with 999 registrations, and finally, the French DS 7 Crossback PHEV scored a record 1,084 units, with the PSA SUV looking to reach the Top 20 soon.

In the manufacturers ranking, BMW (12%) is the new leader, surpassing Renault (11%, down 2%) thanks to a strong lineup (it has 4 models in the Top 20), while behind them, Peugeot and Volkswagen, both with 8% share, are running for the Bronze medal.