Global Top 20 March 2020

Boatloads of Model 3 were delivered last month

Models: Tesla and the Chinese shine

After a glimmer of hope in February, registrations went back to red in March, dropping 15% YoY, to some 192.000 units, while the YTD numbers are now down 6% regarding the same period last year, with 460.000 registrations. 

Of course, these numbers will no doubt look good, compared to what we will see in the next couple of months, as the current Covid pandemic is sure to drag sales down to a hole, but for now, things aren't that bad, with the March PEV share at 2,5%, pulling the 2020 plugin share to 2%.

BEVs grew faster than the plugin average, allowing them to have 74% of the market (67% YTD), getting in line with the 74% share of last year. 

With the Chinese EV market recovering in March, the highest standing Chinese EV is now the BYD Qin Pro EV, that joined the table in #10, thanks to a record 5.271 units, with its arch-rival BAIC EU-Series also re-joining the Top 20, in #14, while the export-friendly MG eZS EV jumped to #11, and expect other models to join in the next couple of months, although it might not reach the numbers we had by this time last year, when we had 10 Chinese EVs in the Top 20...

In other news, the leader Tesla Model 3 extended its lead, thanks to a near-record 48.788 units, while the unbreakable Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV climbed one position, to #4, thanks to 4.410 units, its best score in 6 months, extending its lead in the plugin hybrid category.

Other models on the rise are the Audi e-Tron jumping to #6, thanks to a year best 4.377 units performance, stealing the Best Selling Luxury plugin title from the BMW 530e/Le, while the Tesla Model X returned to the table, in #16.  

But the most highly expected Tesla vehicle right now is the Model Y, that landed last month, and with some 5.000 units right on its first month, we can confirm that slow ramp ups are now a thing of Tesla's past.

As for the remaining ranking, 3 of the 6 PHEVs in this Top 20 are in the last places of the table, so with the imminent rise of several Chinese EVs to the Top 20, we could witness soon just 3 plugin hybrids in the table. 

Outside the Top 20, a mention for the surprising Mini Cooper EV, that registered 1.440 units in its first full sales month, a positive start for the electric hot hatch.

Manufacturers: Tesla and the Chinese shine

March saw Tesla secure the leadership gor good, winning a 50.000 units lead over the runner-up BMW, growing 40% YoY so far this year. 

Others also grew significantly this quarter, like Volvo (+49%), or Renault (+82%), while the the Volkswagen Group (VAG) continues to recover the years lost, with the #3 Volkswagen growing 59% YoY, while Audi's rise and rise continues, having jumped 3 spots last month, to #8, thanks to 7.246 units, it's best score so far, with VAG keeping 4 brands(!) in the Top 20, besides the #3 Volkswagen, we have Audi in #11, Porsche in #18 and in #19 we have Skoda...

But the real news are the Chinese brands recovery, with BYD, #2 in March, shooting 8 spots to 4th, SAIC was up to #6, while BAIC jumped to #15, and while these positions are still far from their standings a year ago (BYD was #1, SAIC was #3 and BAIC #4), the next couple of months should witness a continue improvement, so much so that BYD could reach the runner-up spot by May, while SAIC could be #4 and BAIC #6 around that time. 

Elsewhere, Hyundai climbed to #7, while outside the Top 20, the Mini brand profited from the Mini Cooper EV sales to climb a few positions, being now less than 500 units (5.592 units in total) from the Top 20.

Europe March 2020

10% Share! 

The European passenger plug-in market registered 84,000 registrations in March (+41%), a great performance consindering the effect that the several lockdowns across the continente had, with the overall market crashing (-52% YoY), inflating last month plugin share to an amazing 9.9% share (6% BEV), and pulling the 2020 PEV share to 7.5% (4.3% for BEVs alone), well above the 3.6% result of 2019.

Will we see Europe's plugin market hit two digit share this year? 

The big news in March is the peak month of the Tesla Model 3, that delivered 16,121 registrations, while the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV returned to the podium, thanks to 3,551 units, while below it, we have two Volkswagen Group models, with the VW e-Golf in #4 and the Audi e-Tron in 5th.

Looking at March Top 5 Models:

#1 Tesla Model 3 – The usual end-of-quarter flood came for the electromobility posterchild, with 16,121 deliveries, with the sports sedan winning its first European Best Seller title in 2020. The rabbit out of Tesla's hat last month was the UK, with the Californian registering a record 4,718 units there, but that wasn't the only 4-digit performance, with 2,034 deliveries being recorded in Germany, 1,385 units in France (new record), 1,339 in the Netherlands and a best ever 1,084 units in Sweden.  

#2 Renault Zoe – The 4,334 deliveries of March were ever so slightly below last year result (4,361 units a year ago), but once the market returns to normal (June?), expect the French hatchback to return to the growth path. As for individual market performances, the Renault EV continues strong in its domestic market (1,744 units), and in Germany (945 units), with the surprise coming from Sweden, with 310 units.

#3 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV– Last month, the Japanese SUV had its first podium in 9 months, thanks to 3,551 units, incidentally also its best score in 9 months, with the Mitsubishi workhorse benefitting from its unbeatable formula (plenty of utility and space for the money) to continue running with the best BEVs, being the only plugin hybrid able to do so. Looking at individual countries, the UK (1,000 units) and Germany (582) were its largest markets, with Norway also helping significantly, thanks to 481 registrations.

#4 Audi e-Tron – Thanks to a number of impressive performances, the big Audi is becoming the talk of the town, with March registering 3,522 units, winning its first Top 5 presence this year. And while many of them (1,681 units) went to Norway, the fact is that the e-Tron has great prospects for 2020, thanks to the success of the new (and cheaper) 71 kWh battery version and the launch of the interesting Sportback version, that adds a bit of flair to the dull exterior design of the regular e-Tron. But it wasn’t just Norway pulling the e-Tron’s (very) heavy weight, as the Audi EV is also becoming popular in Germany (721 units, new record) and the UK (500 units, personal best).

#5 VW e-Golf – The evergreen German model reached 3,428 units last month, apparently immune to the long shadow of the ID.3, with Volkswagen milking everything it can from it, at least until its successor effectively lands (whenever that is). Regarding March, the e-Golf main markets were Germany (1,524 units, new record), Norway (650) and the Netherlands (403).

Looking at the 2020 ranking, the big news is the Tesla Model 3 jumping into the leadership, having seen its deliveries grow 8% YoY this year, but despite this positive outcome, the market share regarding the same period shrank from 16% in Q1 '19, to the current 9%, as the market has been growing at a much faster (+82%) rate.

Another example of this apparent contradiction is the #14 Kia Niro EV, that is seeing its sales grow 30% YoY this year, and yet, by this time this year, it was #11...

The other change on the top positions was the Mitsubishi Outlandet PHEV climbing to #4, being by far the Best Selling PHEV on the table.

In the second half of the ranking, there were plenty of changes, the most relevant being the BMW i3 and VW Passat GTE climbing two positions each, to #10 and #11, respectively, but despite the BMW EV recovery, it is far from last year results, as the quirky hatchback a year ago was 5th, having seen its sales drop 36% YoY. Is the i3 showing its first wrinkles?

The Volvo S/V60 PHEV twins jumped to #13, thanks to 1,703 units, with the Swedes now looking to surpass their stablemate, the #11 XC60 PHEV and become the brand Best Seller.  

Besides what has been said before, there were other good news for the VW Group, the VW e-Up! was...up to #16, thanks to 1,480 units, if we add its Czech Citigo EV (1,011 units) and Spanish e-Mii (491) twins, the triplets would have 2,982 units, which would place it in #6 on last month ranking. 

We have a new face in the Top 20, with the #20 Mercedes E300e/de replacing its arch-rival BMW 530e in the table, underlining a positive month for the three-pointed star plugins, as the C300e/de also scored a 4-digit performance, the new A250e delivered over 700 units, and even the EQC registered a record result, with 668 units (yeeey!...), so while the Mercedes EV is finally moving the needle, this is just a half good score, after all, the Tesla Model X and Jaguar i-Pace, hardly hot sellers at this moment, both scored 800-something performances last month...   

Outside the Top 20, we should also notice the good performances of the veteran Gen. 7 VW Golf GTE, with 832 registrations last month, its best score since 2018, which promises strong demand for the upcoming Gen.8 Golf GTE, while there are a plethora of newcomers landing with a bang, here's a couple of them: Opel Corsa EV (955 units) and Mini Cooper EV (1,375), while on the PHEV side, we should mention the Ford Kuga PHEV (911 units), Skoda Superb PHEV (1,131) or the Volvo XC40 PHEV (1,254).

In the manufacturers ranking, there was a complete reshuffle, with Tesla (11%, up 5%) jumping into the leadership, being immediately followed by BMW (10%, down 2%), with Volkswagen (9%, up 1%) and Renault (9%, down 2%) following suit.

Not far off, we also have Volvo and Peugeot, both with 7% share each, this year being possibly the most balanced race ever in this category. 

BEV D-Segment / Midsize category

Tesla's midsizer sales are in another galaxy, and won't have significant competition for at least another year, as the Polestar 2 will remain a niche player and once the BMW iX3 lands, the German maker would already be happy if it got a third of sales of the current Model 3.

The real competition will only be when the Tesla Model Y lands, not only it will drain the Model 3 sales, but will also outsell it, so...Enjoy the throne while you can, Model 3.

As for the remaining podium, the Jaguar i-Pace is (still) the silver medalist, but has seen its sales drop 27% YoY, while the #3 Mercedes EQC production ramp up is slooowly happening, so it will be a matter of time until Merc's SUV reaches Silver.

BEV E-Segment / Full size category

The e-Tron recent domination of the segment is proof that Teslas aren't unbeatable, you just need competitive products. 

Granted, the e-Tron is just half competitive, as it lacks decent range, but if even half good is enough to beat (both) Teslas by a mile, imagine what an efficient e-Tron could have done...

Your turn to up the ante, Tesla.

One of Audi e-Tron's trump cards is its wider price range, that helps to catch more buyers, something that the still in ramp-up mode Porsche Taycan (1,168 units) will in no doubt benefit too, once Porsche decides to put all its usual 356 variants (Turbo S / Turbo / 4S / GTS / Sport Turismo / Cross Turismo / ...) into the Taycan.

Italy March 2020

Tesla shines in Corona-hit market

With Italy severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the automotive market crashed in March, falling 86% YoY, but amazingly, the local PEV market kept growing, with sales in March up 22% YoY, to 1.322 units, a step below the tripling sales of previous months, but considering the doom and gloom around it, one could hardly expect better.

With plugin sales growing and the overall market crashing, last month plugin share jumped to a record 4,6% (3,3% BEV), while the 2020 share climbed to 2,4%, more than doubling last year result. 

It has been a long time coming, but it seems Italy is finally warming up to plugins, and with FIAT launching a new 500e in its home market, we will surely see even more growth on top of this.

But back at March, looking at the best selling models, the Renault Zoe is the leader, with the hot Tesla Model 3 jumping to #2 last month, thanks to 358 units, its best result in 9 months, but nevertheless, the sports sedan ended far from the Zoe leadership.

Other noticeable performances last month were the Smart Fortwo EV climbing to #4, thanks to 128 registration, being last month runner-up model, while the Ford Kuga PHEV is experiencing a surprising success in this market, jumping to #12 in March, thanks to 61 units last month.

One quirk of this market is the popularity of city cars, not only we have the Smart Fortwo EV in #4, but it is tied in that position with the VW e-Up!, the highest standing for Volkswagen smaller EV among larger markets, while on the category above, besides the expected Renault Zoe / Peugeot 208 EV success, we also see the Opel Corsa EV and Mini Cooper EV at the bottom of the table, prepearing themselves to climb positions in the next following months, while in #20, we also have the DS 3 EV.  

Peugeot (13%) is leading the makers ranking, with Renault and Volkswagen, both with 10% share, following suit, while outside the podium, we have Tesla (9%), being chased by Smart and Mini, both with 8%. 

Colombia March 2020

Dongfeng Rich-6 EV: A success story in Colombia?

BMW i3 #1

EVs in Colombia have hit the brakes last month, due to the COVID lockdown, in the second half of March, with the 99 units sold last month representing a 11% drop, but despite this, the YTD numbers are still up by 4%.

And because the overall market is faring even worse (-39% in March, -6% YTD), the plugin share has grown, to 0,6% (0,8% in March), which is already above the 2019 mark (0,5%). 

Colombia will likely be the first Latin American market to reach 1% share, at least in a few months of 2020, confirming itself as the most promising plugin market south of the US border.

Looking at the Year Best Sellers, there weren't major changes in the last few months, with the two times (2018, '19) winner BMW i3 firm in the leadership, followed by its stablemate BMW 330e in #2, although the sedan is now threatened by the #3 Nissal Leaf, that registered 18 units last month, its best result this year.

Outside the podium, we have the three times winner (2015, '16 & '17) Renault Twizy, tied with another BMW, the X5 PHEV, both in #4.

But last month most interesting news was the landing of the Dongfeng Rich-6 EV, with 13 registrations in March of the Chinese Pick-up Truck (based on the Nissan Frontier / Navara), it has become immediately the most successful Chinese EV in this market, so it will be interesting to see how the Best Selling electric pick-up truck in the World (there isn't much competition...), with its 57 kWh battery, will do in Colombia.

By brands, BMW is King, with 48% share, with Mercedes in the runner-up spot, with 15% share, while Renault is 3rd, with 12%, just ahead of Nissan (11%).