Thursday, November 19, 2020

France October 2020


Renault Twingo lands in hot market (12% share!)

If the overall automotive market continues in negative ground (-10% in October), plugin sales continue steaming hot (+360%!), with PHEVs (up 388%, to 9,945 units, a new record) in particular, shining above everyone, allowing them to have a 50% share among plugins, an all-time high for the technology in this BEV-friendly market, and well above the 38% share they have in the whole year. 

These disruptive numbers are also reflecting on the plugin share, as last month it reached 12% (6% BEV), pulling the YTD share to 9.7% (6% BEV), so one can say that the bulk of growth comes from PHEVs. 

Expect the numbers to improve in the remainder of the year, with the 2020 tally probably going north of 10% by year end, which will prelude the upcoming #Disruption '21 - French Edition


Looking at last month Best Sellers, the top 2 were the usual local heroes, but below them, we have the two new local players, both playing on the PHEV field, that explain part of the recent sales surge in that technology, with the Renault Captur PHEV jumping to 3rd, thanks to a record 1,693 registrations, while the Citroen C5 Aircross PHEV ramped up deliveries to 926 units, with the double chevron SUV looking to ramp up production fast and beat the small Renault crossover in the last two stages of the 2020 race. 

We have two models tied in #5, with the Kia Niro EV scoring a record 678 registrations, the same number of units that the new Renault Twingo had in its landing month, a promising result for Renault's much anticipated (and delayed...) new baby.

Speaking of fresh models, a reference also to the VW ID.3, that scored 524 units in its second month in France, which is lower than the 616 units of the landing month. Allocation issues, or is it something else?

On the other hand, Mercedes is busy ramping up deliveries of its extensive PHEV lineup, with 3 models hitting relevant (and record) performances last month: the GLC300e/de SUV scored 513 units, the A250e hatchback had 395 units, while the new GLA250e compact SUV is already at 249 deliveries. 

It took them a while to get their show on the road, but the fact is that Mercedes is now well ahead of its arch-rival BMW, that had their only decent performances coming from Mini, with the Cooper EV scoring a record 425 deliveries, while the Countryman PHEV (225 units), outsold every BMW plugin model available...

Outside this Top 20, a reference to the landing of the SEAT Leon PHEV, with a relevant 184 units, while Jeep's plugin models are starting to gain traction, with the small Renegade PHEV registering 126 units, while the compact Compass PHEV had 125 deliveries.



Looking at the 2020 ranking, while the top 2 remain unattainable, the last position of the podium can changed hands, with the Peugeot 3008 PHEV recovering the 3rd spot (only to lose it next December, the time of the next Tesla high tide on French shores), while below them, the Kia Niro EV surpassed a falling DS 7 PHEV, with the Korean crossover now reaching the 6th position. 

But the Climber of the Month was the Renault Captur PHEV, that shooted 7 positions, into #8, with the small French crossover focused on climbing up the ladder in the final two stages and steal the Best Selling PHEV title from the Peugeot 3008 PHEV. 

On the second half of the table, we have the VW Golf PHEV climbing two spots, to #16, thanks to fresh units coming from the new generation Golf VIII, while below this position, we have four fresh faces in the table:

- The #17 Citroen C5 Aircross PHEV SUV replaced the Jurassic Citroen C-Zero on the table, signaling a new age for the French brand, that i am sure the upcoming C4 EV hatchback will play an important follow up role;

- The Mini Cooper EV joined the table in #18, proving that range isn't everything, especially in the small car category, where price and desirability are also key factors;

- The well rounded Mercedes A250e reached the table, in #19, becoming the second model of the three-pointed-star brand in the Top 20, signaling the rising importance of the German brand on the plugin market;

- Finally, in #20, we have the Opel Corsa EV, the 8th(!) PSA model in the table, with the French conglomerate benefiting from a large collection of brands (Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel) to populate the table. 

IF the upcoming PSA-FCA merger manages to successfully integrate the 114 brands it will have under its umbrella, the future Stellantis Group will become a force to be reckoned, as it will have a massive scale and will play relevant roles in several major markets, with the exception being Asia, and most specifically, China, where they lack a competitive local associate.

Looking at the brands ranking, the leader is, as always, Renault (26%, up 1%), with the runner-up Peugeot (19%) at a safe distance, while the last place in the podium is being disputed by a long list of brands (Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, DS), all with 5% share.

As for OEMs, the Renault-Nissan Alliance (30%) has recovered and in now ahead of PSA (28%), while the best foreign OEM is  Hyundai-Kia, with 10% share.

16 comments:

  1. Maarten VinkhuyzenNovember 19, 2020

    José, I am a bit mystified.

    You report 678 Renault Twingo ZE.
    In the monthly sales report of Renault (Groupe Renault - Monthly sales - October 2020) there are only 99 sales.

    Do you know what mistake Renault is making in their numbers? ;-)

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    1. I was also surprised by that.

      My source is Avere France: http://www.avere-france.org/Site/Article/?article_id=7924&from_espace_adherent=0

      And so far it has been a reliable one. Then again, it's the maker itself saying just 99 sales...

      I'll stick to my guns and keep the 678 units, if nothing else, because i am seeing deliveries of the Twingo EV in other countries, so i think the "99" could be a typo, maybe it is "990".

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  3. Viva la France for setting a record 19.990 units, just 10 shy of 20K.
    Thanks to all star players Renault, Peugeot and the new star VW ID.3

    I dont think Nov will repeat Oct because of lockdown, but vaccine is on the way and coming months should be better.

    Its ok even if PHEVs surge since they run 25 - 50% on electricity and even for the distance it runs on petrol, it runs with 50% higher efficiency because of regenerative braking. Overall PHEVs vehicles will be far more efficient than regular petrol/diesel vehicles.

    Ideally all automakers should make at least mild hybrid standard and these vehicles use just 0,5 KWh battery for 10% increase in mileage. Nearly 2/3 of the vehicles sold in USA has start/stop.

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    1. The majority of these crappy PHEVs aren't running anything near 50% on electricity -- not even 25% in many cases.

      And the environmental benefit of making and lugging around a large battery that is most unused is very questionable, to put it mildly. (I have seen many claims that they are actually worse -- though I can't say how much truth there is to these...)

      If they will never get charged, a plug-less hybrid with a small battery would actually be a lot better. But that offers no opportunity for leeching subsidies, nor to game emission standards with completely unrealistic paper savings... So there is no incentive for car makers to produce these over cheaper pure combustion models.

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  4. Todays great news. Tesla share surge past $500 and some secret investor is buying. Guess who?
    Its a poor man by the name: Warren Buffett

    Another good news: Redesigned Toyota Sienna minivan (2.5 liter 4 cylinder full hybrid) for 2021 gets 36 MPG which is 63% more than the old version (3.5 liter 6 cylinder non-hybrid). Sienna sells around 100.000 units / year.

    Its price is around $2,820 more, but it will save double the money over 10 year period. Its ideal for those who drive more.

    Now pressure will be on Chrysler Pacifica which is sold in petrol and plugin versions and also Honda Odyssey and Kia Sedona which have only petrol.

    If all vehicles get full hybrid version, fuel consumption can be saved drastically, better for plugin hybrids. Even better for BEVs.

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    1. The Chrysler Pacifica PHEV is such a waisted opportunity from FCA...They should have betted heavily on that, as there isn't nothing like it on the market.

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    2. What for? PHEVs aren't exactly drawing customers... (Nor do minivans nowadays.) And the mandates are so lax in the US that nobody even cares much about compliance vehicles any more...

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  5. Tesla is in need of a huge tide of assembled in China cars, as it just clocked its worst performance in France since October 2018!

    writen by Looney Tunes

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    1. What you actually mean is that their logistics scored the best performance since September 2018 in delivering all available cars before the end of the quarter...

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    2. What you are actually showing is that their product production planning coupled to their logistics is severely flawed: in the very last days of every quarter, Tesla could start reserving a few houndereds of cars that will volume-up so that they would be capable of having, at least, 3.000 cars to be loaded on a transatlantic operation that only takes 3 weeks to complete, leaving a full week on every first month of the quarter for Tesla delivering/complete the sell on most of the european markets. Just not that very smart Tesla...

      written by Looney Tunes

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    3. Oh yes, tell them how it should be done -- clearly you are smarter than anyone at Tesla!

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    4. At least, some at the Tesla top seat aren`t very smart: 14 months and counting, discount price cuts galore and the Flagship Tesla sedan isn't yet being delivered. But it is available to order!! Plenty of room for improvement, then.

      written by Looney Tunes

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  6. "But the Climber of the Month was the Renault Captur PHEV, that shooted 7 positions, into #8"

    It should be "shot up", "shooted" is not even a real English word. Maybe a bit pedantic, but you keep repeating this same mistake all the time.

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    1. English borrowed most of the words from foreign languages and it continues to evolve, besides there is no rules with PUT and BUT being pronounced differently.
      So please tolerate even if someone writes like this. Everyone in this world cannot become perfect in English.

      And pretty soon, Chinese-Mandarin will become international language, because they already control 60% of worlds steel and 30% of worlds vehicles. What if the Chinese expect us all to write in perfect chinese.

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    2. The Chinese basically have their own internet -- so even *if* China becomes the dominant power in the world some day, that won't change the language of the internet in the rest of the world.

      Also, just because language is evolving, doesn't make it wrong to point out clear mistakes...

      Delete