Q1-Q3 2020 Sales by OEM

 

Looking at the 2020 sales by Automotive Group, we have:

PHEV+BEV

If we gather plugin sales by Automotive Groups, Tesla is ahead, with 18% share, down 1% regarding the previous June report, followed by the Volkswagen Group (13%), that increased the distance to the Renault-Nissan Alliance, to 5%, so the German conglomerate is midway between the #1 Tesla and the #3 Renault-Nissan. 

And to think that 2019 ended with the Volkswagen Group in 6th, with 6% share, 2 points behind the Renault-Nissan Alliance and a whole 11 points below the leader Tesla (17%)...At this pace, the Germans could beat Tesla by Q2 2021. Bets, anyone?

Below the podium, Hyundai-Kia rose to 4th, at the expense of the BMW Group, with both keeping the 7% share they had in H1. 

SAIC is now #6, with 110.000 units, benefiting from the success of the SGMW City EVs, and could displace BMW from the Top 5 by the end of the year.

With the plugin market this year growing at a 11% rate, while Tesla (+24%), Hyundai-Kia (+29%) and BMW (+17%) are growing at a slightly higher pace than average, but the Volkswagen Group is growing at warp speed (+168%), and it has been the OEM that has grown more in volume, in the past three months, beating even Tesla in that aspect. 

On the other hand, the Renault-Nissan Alliance has seen its sales drop, by 1%, harmed by the slowing sales that Nissan and Mitsubishi have been experiencing. Maybe Renault could be better off seeking new dance partners (Ahem, Mercedes, Ahem)?

BEV

Looking only at BEVs, the leader Tesla (26%) lost 2% share regarding H1, but it is still 3% above the 2019 result, while the Renault Nissan Alliance continues losing share, due to Nissan's slowing sales, dropping by 1% regarding the last quarter, to 9%, and the Alliance was surpassed by the Volkswagen Group, that has kept its 10% score, which is double its final 2019 score (5%).

SAIC is also on the rise, jumping to #4, thanks to the Wuling and Baojun EVs, while increasing its share to 8%, placing the Chinese OEM 2 points ahead of last year 6% share.

Comparing with the BEV+PHEV table, the big defeated is the BMW Group, that due to its heavy reliance on PHEVs, disappears from the Top 5, to the profit of the BEV-friendly SAIC.

Global Top 20 September 2020

 

Models: Tesla Model Y and Wuling Mini EV shine in Record month

After a rough start of the year, first because of the Chinese EV market blues, then because of the Covid pandemic, the second half of the year has finally brought positive months, and the much anticipated (Super-)September month has arrived and brought a record month, with 345.000 units, shattering the previous record, dated from June '19, by over 50.000 units, adding a whopping 17% volume to the 294.000 units of the broken record.

With plugin registrations going up 91%, both technologies had record months, but plugin hybrids were particulary hot, jumping 120%, to 104.000 units, which is the highest PHEV growth rate since December 2015...

This record month has allowed the YTD numbers to reach a positive result of 11% YoY, on par with the 2019 growth rate, so it looks (Covid willing...) like 2020 will end up as a positive year for plugins. 

With the overall automotive market losing momentum, added to a record month, the September PEV share hit a record 4.9% (3.4% BEV), pulling the 2020 plugin share to 3.4% (2.3% BEV), which is almost 1% above the 2.5% of last year.

The future will depend much on the development of the pandemic and the seriousness of the economic crisis, but whatever happens, expect plugins to weather the storm better than the overall market, increasing its PEV share on the way.

The BEV/PHEV breakdown stayed more or less the same, with the current standing now at 68% BEV, 32% PHEV. 

Profiting from the expected end-of-quarter high tide, the leader Tesla Model 3 reigned supreme in September, but the rising star Wuling Mini EV scored a record 14.495 units last month, with the tiny EV placing itself between two Teslas, with the Model Y repeating the monthly Bronze medal, thanks to a record 12.685 deliveries, benefiting from the current production ramp-up, and allowing Tesla's new baby to jump three spots in the Top 20, to #3, with only the Renault Zoe in the way for the Californian maker to make a 1-2 win this year.

Will the Model Y reach Silver? Depends on the production ramp up, with 22.000 units separating both nameplates and only 3 months to go, the midsizer will need to continue ramping up production throughout Q4, in order to get there. With that said, there is a Dark Horse also running for #2...

...The Wuling Mini EV was the Climber of the Month, jumping 11(!) positions, to 7th, and with a steep production ramp up, expect the Chinese EV to continue rising in the table, with October surely witnessing another climb, to 4th or 5th, and then in November/ December, it could go after the current podium medalists, the #3 Tesla Model Y and #2 Renault Zoe, so if the 2020 Best Seller title has been decided long ago, the remaining podium positions are pretty much open for discussion.

The Volkswagen ID.3 has oficially landed, and although the bang wasn't has big as expected, the German EV jumped immediately to the 5th position in September, with 8.576 deliveries, beating the Hyundai Kona EV, that lately has been in a record frenzy, delivering yet another personal best last month, with 8.014 registrations.

Regarding other position changes, the Audi e-Tron (4.795 units, new Year Best) climbed to #8, followed by GAC's Aion S, that was also up one spot, to #10, thanks to a slow month of the BMW 530e/Le twins, that dipped to #11.

Speaking of the big Bimmers, on the PHEV side, the Best Selling model in September was the VW Passat PHEV, that thanks to strong results in both China and Europe, scored a record 6.092 units, with the remaining podium positions in September being filled by two models outside this Top 20, the Mercedes A250e (4.778 units) and Volvo XC40 PHEV (4.281), with the two young (and ambitious) models frankly outpacing most of the Best Sellers in the class. 

With the BMW 530e/Le losing their breath, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV showing its wrinkles and the Ford Kuga/Escape PHEV suffering from battery suply problems, it looks like the VW plugin hybrid model has the road open to win the 2020 Best Selling PHEV title.

Finally, on the second half of the table, SAIC's MG ZS EV climbed one spot, to #16, thanks to a Year Best performance of 5.317 units, while we have two models returning to the Top 20, the Tesla Model X profited from a higher than expected end-of-quarter high tide (6.586 units, its best result since December 2018!), to jump into #17, thus making 3 Tesla models in the Top 20, while Great Wall's ORA R1, now called Black Cat, returned to the best sellers, in #20, thanks to 5.141 units, the small EV best result since June 2019, now making 16 BEVs and 4 PHEVs in the Top 20, and with the #18 Ford Kugao/Esape PHEV in trouble, in October we could see just 3 plugin hybrid models here... 

Manufacturers: Mercedes shines in Record month

Tesla's score (65.814 units) was its best performance ever and is in a different league, but below it, there were also plenty of record performances, 9 to be exact, with the most relevant being Volkswagen, that thanks to the ID.3 landing, jumped its deliveries to 24.035 units, but also Mercedes, that registered 17.836 units, its 3rd record score in a row(!), allowing the three-pointed star brand to jump three positions, to #6, just 73 units below the #5 Renault, that also scored a record result, but in a time that everybody is pushing their limits, it's just not good enough to beat records, one has to shatter them by a significant margin, as Volvo, Audi and Hyundai can attest, as all 3 of them broke their records, and yet, all 3 of them were surpassed by Mercedes... 

Expect Mercedes to climb one position in October, to #5, and then it will be time to go after the #4 BMW arch-rival, that despite hitting a record score in September, is now being outshined by the Mercedes star appeal.

In a different scale, young little NIO, in #20, continues to grow, having reached a record 4.280 deliveries last month, as it tries to keep up with the Big Boys.

With Shanghai Auto tally now split in two, with SAIC on one side and SGMW(1) on the other, the two are now at #11 (SGMW) and #12 (SAIC), with the small EV joint-venture having just surpassed the Mothership in the table.

Outside the Top 20, a reference to Great Wall, now in #21, that registered 6.731 units, its best score since June 2019, with the maker betting on the cat pack (The Good, the White and the Black) to grow its sales and join the table soon.

(1) - SGMW: SAIC + GM + Wuling, a joint-venture between Wuling, General Motors and Shanghai Auto, with the last one owning 50,1% of the joint-venture, the American maker having a 44% share, while Wuling has 5,9% of the joint-venture.

Europe September 2020

VW ID.3 galore...

 

12% share in record month! 

The European passenger plugin market is on fire, having registered a record 160,000 registrations in September (+166% YoY), placing last month plugin share at 12% share (7.1% BEV), and pulling the 2020 PEV share to 9% (4.9% for BEVs alone), which is getting mighty close to the disruptive 10% mark....

..So expect next year to be #Disruption '21!

This sales push is benefiting BEVs (91,615 units, +120% YoY), but especially PHEVs, whose sales are jumping through the roof (+268%!), pulling the BEV/PHEV breakdown close to parity between both technologies, as plugin hybrids have 46% of registrations this year.

With fresh units coming from Fremont, the Model 3 had the expected end-of-quarter high tide, winning last month Best Seller title, its second in a row, and despite losing the Best Seller title to the Californian, the Renault Zoe scored a record month, with over 11,000 deliveries, while the last place of the podium went to the VW ID.3, that officially landed with a bang, with over 8,000 registrations, although many were expecting VW's hatchback to land with a five-digit performance...Maybe in October?

Looking at September Top 5 Models:

#1 Tesla Model 3 – The sports sedan returned to form in a high tide month, by having 16,125 deliveries last month, a new Year Best. Regarding September, the Model 3 main markets were the UK (4,800 units, a new record), Germany (2,776), Norway (1,116 units, new year best) and France (1,083). While October will see the Model 3 having a slow month, November should bring the sedan back into the first positions again (maybe with the help of the Made-in-China SR version?), while December could bring another Best Seller title for the Californian.

#2 Renault Zoe – Super-September brought a record 11,026 deliveries to the French model, with Renault going all in and milking its EV until the last drop, in order to keep five-digit scores until the end of the year and recover the European Best Seller title. Last month, the main market was Germany (3,603 units, new record), followed by France (2,878), the UK (1,800 units, new record) and Italy (676). For the coming months, expect the Zoe to continue on the top positions, running with the Tesla Model 3 and VW ID.3 for the leadership. 

#3 Volkswagen ID.3 - After months (years?) of anticipation, the 2021 Best Selling EV in Europe has finally landed, having delivered the first 8,571 registrations, surely the first of several (hundreds of) thousands. Volkswagen's new Golf IX MEB EV main markets for September delivery were Norway (1,989 units), Germany (1,771) and the UK (650), with France (616) and The Netherlands (609) not far off. Expect VW's new baby to become a familiar face in the medal positions, running with the Tesla Model 3 and Renault Zoe for the monthly Best Seller titles. 

#4 Hyundai Kona EV – Chronically limited by production constraints, Hyundai has finally opened the flood gates for its small crossover, thanks to the Czech plant production, scoring a record 6,143 deliveries in Super-September and allowing another Top 5 standing. After the waiting list being finally emptied (in October?), we will finally start to see the real demand level of the small crossover (3,000/month? More?). Back to last month performance, the UK was the best market for the Hyundai nameplate, with a record 1,800 deliveries, followed by Germany (1,526 units) and France (559). 

#5 Mercedes A250e – Thanks to competitive pricing (for a Premium brand), usable electric range (64 kms / 40 mi WLTP), and even CCS availability, the compact Mercedes has become the maker star player, with September registering a record 4,772 units, it's 3rd record performance in a row, with the biggest market being the UK (1,900 units, a new record), followed by Germany, with 1,404 registrations, and France (382 units, new record). Is this the future of plugin hybrid models?

Looking at the remaining September Best Sellers, the Kia Niro EV once again ended the  month in #6, and once again with a record score, in this case 4,565 deliveries, its second third record performance in a row!

In a record month, several models hit their personal bests, besides the aforementioned models, the Volvo XC40 PHEV (4,199 units), Mercedes GLC300e/de (3,043), Audi Q5 PHEV (2,972), and BMW X5 PHEV (2,799) all hit record scores, all of these sharing a common trend: Premium plugin hybrid SUVs. Let's hope these tanks are at least plugged in regularly... 

On the BEV side, we also have models shining, like the Opel Corsa EV, that hit a record 2,725 registrations last month, that is already closing in to its French cousin Peugeot 208 EV (2,963 units, best result since February), while the Polestar 2 hit a personal best 2,461 deliveries,  but even veterans like the BMW i3 (2,960 units, new year best) or the Nissan Leaf (3,244 units, best result in 18 months), which means that the current EV fever is not only benefiting recent launches, but also older models. 

Outside this Top 20, a reference to several models in ramp-up mode, like the Mini Cooper EV, that hit 2,062 units last month, the Mercedes CLA250e sports sedan scored a record 1,314 units, while the Skoda Superb PHEV registered a record 1,757 units.

Interestingly, the other Skoda plugin, the little Citigo EV, also scored a record result, with 1,757 units, beating its German (e-Up - 1,728 units) and Spanish (e-Mii - 713) twins.

Three other models reached relevant scores, with the Smart Fortwo EV reaching a record 2,114 units(!), while SAIC's MG ZS EV registered a record 2,181 units and the Kia Niro PHEV registered 1,959 units, a new best for the Korean plugin hybrid, that despite this, dropped from the YTD Top 20...With everyone pushing their limits, sometimes doing your best is simply not enough.

Looking at the 2020 ranking, the top positions remained the same, with the Renault Zoe keeping enough distance from the runner-up Tesla Model 3 to remain a comfortable leader, while the Hyundai Kona EV is getting ready to take the 3rd spot from the sunset-mode VW e-Golf.

The troubled #6 Ford Kuga PHEV remained the Best Selling PHEV, but lost some ground to the veteran Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, now just 206 units behind, but both have to look behind too, as both the rising #11 Volvo XC40 PHEV and #15 Mercedes A250e are delivering units in record numbers and could steal the show in the last minutes of 2020, if the Outlander PHEV loses the 2020 title, it will be an historic moment, as it will be the first time since 2012 that the Outlander isn't the Best Selling PHEV in Europe! 

Looking at position changes, the Peugeot 208 EV and Nissan Leaf climbed one position each, to #7 and #8, respectively, while in the second half of the table, the BMW i3 was up to #14.

The #10 Kia Niro EV is closing in to the #9 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and should surpass it in October, thus making 8 BEVs in the 9 first spots.

We have a new face in the Top 20, with the BMW X5 PHEV yacht large SUV joining the table in #19, being only the second full-size model on the Top 20 (the other is the #5 Audi e-Tron).

In the brands ranking, Volkswagen (10%, up 1%) has won precious ground over the runner-up Renault (9%), while Tesla (9%, up 1%) rose to the 3rd spot, at the expense of BMW (8%, down 1%), with the Bavarian maker falling from #3 to #5 in just one month, as the #4 Mercedes (8%, up 1%) and #5 Volvo (8%) have surpassed it in September.

BEV D-Segment / Midsize category

Tesla's midsize sedan sales are in another galaxy, and although it has seen its sales drop 8% YoY last month, it won't have significant competition in the near future, as the recently arrived Polestar 2 (2,461 units last month) is present in a limited number of markets and will remain a niche player this year, with expansion plans only set to be enabled in 2021, while the Ford Mustang Mach-E production levels are still a question mark. As for the BMW iX3, i believe the Bavarian maker will already be happy if it sells Mercedes EQC-level of deliveries...

The real competition should only come when the Tesla Model Y lands, not only it will drain the Model 3 sales, but it should also outsell it.

As for the remaining podium, the Mercedes EQC has increased its lead over the Jaguar i-Pace, profiting from the sales decline of the British sports SUV (-23% YoY), but in September both lost to the new Polestar 2, as the Sino-Swede had its own Super-September, by delivering 2,461 units, far more that the 1,547 of the EQC or the 994 of the i-Pace.

BEV E-Segment / Full size category

The e-Tron domination is unquestionable and continues to grow, with the Big Audi scoring  3,532 units last month, representing a 129% sales increase YoY, considering the already significant sales volumes of the Belgian-made Audi, one wonders for how long will this kind of growth rates be sustained, and when will the peak e-Tron moment arrive...

With the #2 Porsche Taycan (1,017 units last month) now in cruise speed, both flagship Teslas shined in September and managed to recover some space to the Porsche sports sedan, with the Model S delivering 1,328 units, its best result in 15 months, while the Model X did even better, by registering 1,633 units, the Sports-Minivan-SUV-Crossover best score since December 2018...

...It looks like many buyers that were waiting for a refreshed Model S/X reveal on Battery Day, just went to the closeby Tesla Store on the next day, and bought an inventory Model S/X, that, coincidentally or not, by that time had a higher than average stock level...One would almost say that Tesla sent more inventory units than usual in Q3, because it knew this would happen...

This is still a rarefied market, but in the next few months there will be several models landing (Audi e-Tron GT, Mercedes EQS, BMW iNext...), so the 2021 race should be more interesting to follow.

China September 2020

 

Wuling Mini EV #1 in September

The overall Chinese market remained with positive numbers last month (+8% YoY), with plugins faring even better, growing by 66% YoY in September, to 131,000 units, a new year best, with BEVs growing faster (+73%), than plugin hybrids (+43%), allowing pure electrics to have 80% of plugin sales last month, slightly above this year average of 79%.

Last month plugin share reached 6.3% (5% BEV), pulling the 2020 share to 5.2% (4.1% BEV), that although is still below from the 5.5% of 2019, it is a step in the right direction and it should surpass last year's score towards the end of the year.

Looking at September Best Sellers, we have 2 midsize sedans ( #2 Tesla Model 3, #4 GAC Aion S) and 3 City EVs, confirming the return of small EVs to the spotlight, with the Wuling EV even managing to beat the almighty Tesla Model 3 in the race for Best Selling model.

Here’s September Top 5 Best Selling models individual performance:

 

 

#1 – Wuling HongGuang Mini EV

 A big name for a small car, the Wuling EV scored a record 14,495 units last month, meaning that the production ramp up continues, so expect the tiny four-seater to continue growing in the newxt few months. The reason for the overnight success? Well, it is one of the cheapest EVs on the market ($4,200!!!), and yet, it’s not all that bad, as the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint-venture model can seat 4 people (or 3 people and a bit of cargo, or 2 with a fair amount of cargo – 741 liters), in car that is a tad larger (2,917 mm / 114.8 in) than a Smart Fortwo EV, sure, range is not brilliant (smaller battery version has 9.2 kWh battery, top spec version has a 13.8 kWh battery), just like the motor (27hp), but it has only 665 kg curb weight to carry around and is highway capable, so in order to have the 4,200 USD price, without subsidies, one can’t expect miracles... At this price level, the Wuling EV is in position to be a disruptive force in urban mobility, not only against 4-wheeled private transportation, but also against 2 and 3-wheelers. This EV could be a game changer, and not only in China...

 

#2 – Tesla Model 3

The poster child for electric mobility hit 11,329 units last month, and while it’s not its all time best, Tesla’s midsizer continues firmly above the 10,000 mark and should have a bump in deliveries during the next few months, as the new LFP-battery SR version starts its deliveries. The Model 3 is close to get in the way of the category Best Sellers in the overall market, as the Californian is not that far-off from the BMW 3-Series (15,900 units), Mercedes C-Class (15,700) and Audi A4 (14,300), so the Tesla sports sedan still has some room to grow. Will we see it reach some 15,000 units/month cruise speed this year?

 

 #3 – Great Wall ORA Black Cat (R1)

 A few decades ago, Hollywood had a Rat Pack, and maybe inspired by that one, Great Wall decided to create its own Cat Pack, transforming its tiny R1 Smart-lookalike into the Black Cat, launching the R2 model (think Scion XB/Toyota Urban Cruiser kind of vehicle) as the White Cat, that delivered 1,035 units last month, and to lead the Pack, Great Wall is now preparing the launch of the Good Cat, a chunky (and funky) compact hatchback (VW Golf sized) that kinda looks like a Porsche 356 in the front, a Toyota from the side, and the back...Well, it’s its own thing. But enough of the Good Cat, we are here to talk about the Black Cat, that delivered 5,141 units in September, the City EV best score since the new subsidy rules were enacted, back in June 2019. It looks the new name is allowing a second youth to the Ora model, that is also benefitting from the revenge of City EVs...

  

#4 – GAC Aion S

 GAC’s sleek sedan was 4th in September, having registered 4,548 units, a new year best, so it looks the Aion S has found its space, sharing the stage with its crossover sibling, the new Aion V (2,183 units last month). One of the most competitive domestic electric sedans on the market, the Aion S should continue to be a regular in this Top 5, being a strong candidate to the 2020 Bronze medal position.

 

#5 – SAIC Baojun E-Series

 Compared with the base basics Wuling EV, the Baojun E-Series (E100/200/300) are the SGMW more hip and upmarket city models, seeing their demand stay high during the past few months, winning a 5th spot in September, thanks to 4,236 units last month. The access to the current subsidy, added to competitive pricing (CNY 93,900 / USD 14,700) before subsidies, makes it an appealing model for young urban drivers, as well as car-sharing companies and other kind of fleets. 

Looking at the remaining Best Sellers table in September, a mention to a few record performances, like the Li Xiang One (3,830 units), NIO ES6 (3,226) or the hot Xpeng P7 (2,573), confirming the good moment of local EV Startups, while two recent additions to the market, the GAC Aion V (2,183 units) and the BYD Han EV (3,624) and PHEV (1,988) siblings continue their production ramp ups, with the Han EV becoming last month’s Best Selling BYD, and if both were counted together, the full-size Han would have been 3rd last month...

Below the Top 20, a reference to the ramp-up of Geely’s Geometry C, with 1,156 units, with the Chinese maker hoping to succeed with this hatchback, where the sedan (Geometry A) failed. With Polestar, Lynk & Co and Geely itself also going for dedicated BEVs, one wonders how the Geometry lineup sits in the middle of all this...

NIO’s barge flagship SUV, the ES8, scored 1,435 units last month, its best score since May 2019, mostly thanks to the new 100 kWh version, while another EV startup is starting to gain momentum, with Hozon’s Neta N01 small crossover hitting a record 1,332 deliveries.

Looking at the 2020 ranking, if the Model 3 is the undisputed leader, below it, the Wuling Mini EV, after joining the table in July, in #13, kept on rising and in September, it jumped 4 spots, to #2.

This move highlights the latest trend, City EVs are returning to the spotlight, not only with the Wuling EV, but also the #5 Baojun E-Series, while the newly called Great Wall Ora Black Cat was up to #6, and the #8 Chery eQ, thus making 4 City EVs in the Top 8.   

But it weren’t only with the City EVs shining, as the local EV startups continue climbing positions, with the Li Xiang One rising to #10, and with just 234 units separating it from a falling BMW 530Le, the big SUV should become the Best Selling PHEV in the table by October.

The Weltmeister EX5 also had reasons to celebrate, as the crossover was up one spot, to #12.

BYD also had a positive month, as the Han EV joined the table, in #19, now making 6 BYD’s in the Top 20...

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, BYD (15%) is in the leadership, followed by the #2 Tesla (12%, down 1%), and the SGMW joint-venture (9%, up 2%).

Below the podium, the race is tight, Volkswagen (6%) is holding on to #4, with the #5 SAIC and #6 GAC less than 500 units away from the German maker, so anything can happen here, while NIO (4%) has surpassed BAIC and is now #7. 

Iceland September 2020

 Model 3 leads hot market (63% plugin share!)

PEV sales are up in Iceland (+44% YoY) this year, against a backdrop of falling sales (-25%) in the overall market, pulling the 2020 PEV market share to an amazing 43% (24% BEV), the second largest in the World, almost doubling the 2019 score (25%). And to think that not long ago, in 2017, we were celebrating reaching 14% share here...

And if this wasn't enough, in September this market hit a new record, with 705 units, representing 63%(!) of all passenger car sales, with BEVs alone owning 45% share! 

Looking at the models ranking, the main reason for this amazing score is visible, as the Tesla Model 3 reigns supreme after deploying another boatload of Model 3's, securing enough advantage over the #2 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to start celebrating the midsizer first Best Seller title in Iceland.

In September, we should also mention the good landing month of the VW ID.3 (42 deliveries), last month runner-up, while the landing of the Toyota RAV4 PHEV also doesn't go unnoticed, with its first 30 registrations, for sure the first of many.

In a SUV-heavy market, there's only 3 cars in the Top 10, a mention to the 3rd place of the Audi e-Tron, while Volvo places all its SUVs on the table.

Highlighting Tesla's popularity here, the Tesla Model X scored 16 deliveries last month, a new record for the flagship SUV.

In the brands ranking, Tesla (25%) is running the show, with Mitsubishi (12%) in Second, followed by Volvo (11%), while outside the podium, we have Kia (9%) in 4th, while Audi and Volkswagen share the 5th spot, both with 8% share.

Models Breakdown by Fuel Source

Pl	Model	2020 Sales
1	Tesla Model 3	742
2	Toyota RAV4 Hybrid	416
3	Mitsu. Outlander PHEV	349
4	Audi e-Tron	192
5	Kia Niro	191

In a market where plugins now have almost half of the market, plugins are becoming more and more synonym with the overall best sellers, as one can see here, on the overall Top 5. 

Looking at Iceland best sellers, we can witness the large electrification of the ranking, replicating in its own way what is happening in Norway, as all positions are in the hands of electrified models, with the fully electric Tesla Model 3 leading with a large advance over the #2 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, followed by the plugin hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

Now that the PHEV version of the Toyota RAV4 has just landed, it will be interesting to see what happens to the regular Hybrid version.

Outside the podium we can see another BEV, with the Audi e-Tron in 4th, while in 5th we have the electrified Kia Niro, with its EV version having 45% of the model sales, while the PHEV has 29%, leaving the HEV version with just 26% of the total Niro sales.

Interestingly, 7 months ago, we had 2 ICE models in this Top 5 (Dacia Duster and Kia Sportage), in June we had one (Dacia Duster), and now...none. I think it's time to change the reporting of Iceland to the current Norway-kind, as this market's plugin market is now fully merged with the overall market, making it the second to acheive this. Who will be the third?  

Iceland is a sort of unsung hero of the EV Scene, while it's still not quite at Norway's point of electrification, after all, the 43% of Iceland is still 28% behind the current 71% of its Nordic neighbor, electrification is also mainstream here, as this overall Top 5 shows, with this small market being a favorite to complete its full electrification process right behind (1 year later?) the uncontested leader, Norway.

Finland September 2020

 

Volvo: Big in Finland

16% Share!

Plugins continue a hot item in Finland, having become become a major plugin market when it comes to market share, with 2020 having some outlandish (+139% YoY) growth rates, and with the mainstream market falling significantly (-17% YoY), the 2020 PEV Share is now at an amazing 14%,with September hitting 16%, thanks to an unprecedented 12.279 registrations.

This continues to be a PHEV-friendly market, with BEVs representing just 22% of the 2020 sales, but last month, BEVs had a 35% share, thanks to the Tesla Model 3 deliveries peak (182 units), allowing it to be #9 in the overall market, but also due to the VW ID.3 landing, that registered 201 units in its first month on the market, allowing it to jump to #6 in the September overall market and become last month Best Selling PEV, this is a promising start for the Volkswagen hatchback, that together with the end of the production constraints of the Model 3, should help to change the fortunes of all-electric vehicles in this market.

Speaking of the only BEV in the 2020 Top 10, Tesla's midsizer profited from the September high tide to climb one spot in the YTD table, now in #6.

Looking at the remaining models ranking, the Mercedes GLC300e/de profited from the addition of the diesel-hybrid version to score 104 units, allowing it to climb another position, with the midsize Merc now in the runner-up spot.

Another Mercedes shining was the C300e/de, that registered 102 units last month, so we could see it in the table soon.

Interestingly, looking at this Top 10, we see 6 SUVs in the table, confirming the populatiry of this category in this market.

Another change in the table is the BMW X5 PHEV climbing to #9, thanks to 79 deliveries, its best performance since January.

Below this Top 10, a mention to the 95 registrations of the Toyota RAV4 PHEV in only its second month on the market, this is a critical model to the Japanese maker, as the Finland automotive market is a traditional Toyota stronghold, and now that this market in on the disruption fast track to electrification, they need competitive plugin models to hold its commanding lead in the market, as plugless hybrids are also starting to be swallowed by plugins.

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, Volvo (21%) is a comfortable leader, with the rising Mercedes (14%) in Second, relegating BMW (13%) to 3rd, while the #4 Volkswagen (8% share) and #5 Skoda (7%) are too far behind to worry the podium bearers.