New Zealand May 2017

Record Month 

A record 81 plug-ins were sold last month, up a spectacular 200% YoY, with the EV Share at 0.5%.

Looking at the models ranking, things are back to normal, the 2016 Best Seller Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV returned to the leadership, with 82 units (Up 19% YoY), possibly due to increased stock availability (As in: Netherlands and the UK stopped absorbing Outlanders in large amounts)

Three all electric models follow the Japanese SUV, with the Tesla Model S ahead of the trio, with 46 units, below the Californian Sports Sedan, we have the talented Hyundai Ioniq Electric in Third Place, with 44 units, this being one of the highest standings in the world for the Korean model. Kudos to the local importer for getting units that others don't want can't get their hands to.

The Tesla Model X had a record 14 deliveries in May, rising to #4 and making three BEVs in the Top 4. 

In the Manufacturers ranking, the six times Best Selling Manufacturer Mitsubishi is back at the throne, with 29% share, but with Tesla not that far (26% share), it will be an entretaining race to follow. 

The race for Third Place is also close, with Hyundai (16%) running from BMW (14%).

Pl	New Zealand	May	YTD '17	%	'16Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	21	82	29	1
2 3 4 5 6 7 7 7 10 11 11 13	Tesla Model S Hyundai Ioniq Electric Tesla Model X BMW i3 Audi A3 e-Tron BMW i8 Mercedes GLE500e Mercedes C350e BMW 225xe Active Tourer Porsche Cayenne Plug-in Volvo XC90 PHEV BMW 330e	12 13 14 5 3 1 2 3 2	46 44 27 22 11 7 7 7 6 5 5 4	16 16 10 8 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 1	6 13 N/A 2 4 8 N/A 9 7 9 5 15
13 13 16	Audi Q7 e-Tron BMW X5 40e BMW 740e	4 1	4 4 1	1 1 0	N/A  N/A 16
TOTAL		81	282	100

Source: mia.org.nz

New Zealand February 2017 (Updated)

NZ Tesla Fans rejoice!

Tesla oficially lands in Record Month 

A record 63 plug-ins were sold last month, up a spectacular 271% YoY, with the EV Share now in a record 0.51%.

Looking at the models ranking, the 2016 Best Seller Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is down to Third Spot, with two all electric models leading the way, the Tesla Model S is ahead of the pack, with 24 units, with February signaling the official landing of the American brand in Kiwi land. 

Below the Californian Sports Sedan, the talented Hyundai Ioniq Electric is in the runner-up position, but the #3 Outlander PHEV and #4 BMW i3 are too close for the Korean model to ease off the accelerator. 

In the Manufacturers ranking, BMW is a surprising leader, with 29% share, followed by Tesla, with 26%, and Hyundai (17%).

As for the six times Best Selling Manufacturer Mitsubishi,  it is only Fourth, with 16% share. Will this be the year that Mitsu's domination will end? By whom? BMW? Tesla?

Please make your bets...

Pl	New Zealand	Feb.	YTD '17	%	'16Pl
1	Tesla Model S	15	18	19	6
2 3 4 5 5 7 7 9 10	Hyundai Ioniq Electric Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV BMW i3 Tesla Model X BMW i8 Mercedes GLE500e BMW 225xe Active Tourer BMW 330e Volvo XC90 PHEV	13 12 5 6 3 2 1 3 1	16 15 14 6 5 5 4 4 2	17 16 15 6 5 5 4 4 2	13 1 2 N/A 8 N/A 7 15 5
11 11 11 11	Mercedes C350e Audi A3 e-Tron BMW 740e Porsche Cayenne Plug-in		1 1 1 1	1 1 1 1	9 4 16 9
TOTAL		61	93	100

Source: mia.org.nz

New Zealand December 2016

Best. Name Plate. Ever.

Outlander PHEV wins Third Models Title in Record Year 

With 412 plug-ins sold in 2016, growth has increased significantly YoY, up  46%, with the EV Share ending at a healthy 0.28%.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was once again the undisputed leader, its Third consecutive Best Seller Award, although sales were a bit far from the record 197 units registered in 2014.

Below the japanese SUV, the BMW i3 (Up 78% YoY) repeated the runner-up position, while the Renault Kangoo ZE(!) had a positive first year, ending the year in Third, a podium position only repeated at its home, France.

In the Manufacturers ranking, New Zealand can be considered Mitsubishi turf, having won in 2016 its Sixth title in seven editions (Nissan won in 2012), but this year BMW came closer than usual, with the difference being only 10% share. I think in 2017 Mitsubishi will have to keep an eye on the German brand, if it wants to win trophy #8. 
This market continues to favor PHEV's, with 63% share, but it has lost 4% share regarding last year, will we see BEV's win the upper hand in 2017? If that would happen, it would be the first time since 2013 that pure electrics were the majority. 

All eyes on you, BMW and Renault...

Pl	New Zealand	Dec.	YTD '16	%	'15Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	8	157	38	1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 9	BMW i3 Renault Kangoo ZE Audi A3 e-Tron Volvo XC90 T8 Tesla Model S BMW 225xe Active Tourer BMW i8 Mercedes C350e Porsche Cayenne Plug-In BMW X5 40e	1 3 2 1 1 1	78 35 27 25 24 16 9 7 7 7	19 8 7 6 6 4 2 2 2 2	2 N/A 4 N/A 5 N/A N/A N/A 6 N/A
9 13 13 15 16	Volkswagen e-Golf Renault Zoe Hyundai Ioniq Electric BMW 330e BMW 740e	1	7 4 4 3 2	2 1 1 1 0	N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL		18	412	100

Source: mia.org.nz

New Zealand October 2016

Best. Name Plate. Ever.

Record  Month 

The Kiwi EV Market is very much alive, having registered a record 57 plug-ins sold last month, up three fold YoY, with the EV Share at 0.3%.

Looking at the models ranking, the usual driving force and current YTD leader, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, has seen its status being questioned recently by the BMW i3, that has won the last two Best Seller trophies, with a personal record of 17 registrations in October. 

An unexpected success story is what it can be said about the Renault Kangoo ZE, which is now Third in the ranking, trailing sales of its Zoe sibling (#12, with only 4 sales). 

In the remaining YTD ranking, the Tesla Model S is Fourth but the Audi A3 e-Tron is just one unit behind.

In the manufacturers ranking, Mitsubishi is ahead, with 39% share, but BMW (28%) is gaining ground, thanks to its six(!) model line up, followed by Renault, with 10% share.

Looking at the BEV/PHEV breakdown, all-electric vehicles are up 4% YoY, to 37%, which is the best score for BEV's since 2013, when the total amount of EV's sold was just 15 units. 

Pl	New Zealand	Oct.	YTD '16	%	'15Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	15	139	39	1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 8 11	BMW i3 Renault Kangoo ZE Tesla Model S Audi A3 e-Tron Volvo XC90 T8 BMW 225xe Active Tourer Mercedes C350e Porsche Cayenne Plug-In BMW i8 BMW X5 40e	17 4 4 2 2 1 1 1 3 1	70 31 23 22 19 14 7 7 7 6	20 9 6 6 5 4 2 2 2 2	2 N/A 5 4 N/A N/A N/A 6 N/A N/A
12 13 13 15	Renault Zoe Volkswagen e-Golf BMW 330e BMW 740e	1 1	4 3 3 1	1 1 1 0	N/A N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL		57	356	100

Source: mia.org.nz

Regular Hybrids + Plug-ins Ranking

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Toyota Corolla Hybrid	22
2	Lexus RX450h	22
3	BMW i3	17
4	Mitsu. Outlander PHEV	15
5	Toyota Camry Hybrid	11

Adding regular hybrids to plug-ins, the growth trend of the last ones is starting to make a dent in regular hybrids, last month two plug-ins (BMW i3 in #3 and Outlander PHEV in #4) showed up in the Top positions, something unthinkable just a year ago.

With these first signs of vulnerability, I believe it will be a question of time until Toyota NZ follows their European counterparts and starts heavily discounting their hybrids.

New Zealand July 2016

Best. Name Plate. Ever.

Outlander PHEV is New Zealand's Favorite Plug-in

With 37 plug-ins sold last month, sales were up a spectacular 147%, with the EV Share up to 0.3%.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is once again the leading force, with July being the 14th consecutive month where the Japanese SUV leads both the monthly and YTD rankings.

Below Mitsubishi's SUV, the BMW i3 is proving to be quite popular, with no real competitors to its Silver medalist status, while the Third Placed Volvo XC90 PHEV is still too close from the rest of the pack to garantee the Bronze medal soon, especially considering the perfect landing of the Mercedes C350e, with 6 units, the best debut month for a plug-in since the Outlander PHEV arrived to these shores.

A telling tale of the growing importance of this market, is that besides Mercedes, Volkswagen has also landed in July, not with the expected Golf GTE, but with the all-electric e-Golf, a surprising move, considering PHEV's own 72% of the market.

Is VW's sporty hatch reserved for later? By the way, the Mercedes SUV's would also be successfull here, so...

Pl	New Zealand	July	YTD '16	%	'15Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	11	102	48	1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	BMW i3 Volvo XC90 T8 Tesla Model S BMW 225xe Active Tourer Audi A3 e-Tron Mercedes C350e BMW X5 40e Porsche Cayenne Plug-In	10 4 2 1 1 6 2	42 14 13 11 10 6 5 4	20 7 6 5 5 3 2 2	2 N/A 5 N/A 4 N/A N/A 6
10 10 12 12	Renault Kangoo ZE Renault Zoe Volkswagen e-Golf BMW 330e	1	2 2 1 1	1 1 0 0	N/A N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL		37	213	100

Source: mia.org.nz

Plug-Ins Versus Regular Hybrids

Pl	Model	2016 YTD
1	Toyota Camry Hybrid	262
2	Toyota Prius C	166
3	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	102
4	Toyota Corolla Hybrid	89
5	Lexus NX300h	62

  
If we combine regular hybrid sales with plug-ins, only the Outlander PHEV shows decent numbers against Toyota's products, but even so, it is far from the leader Camry Hybrid.

Looking at the half-full cup, plug-ins have a lot of room to grow... 

New Zealand June 2016 (Updated)

Best. Name Plate. Ever.

Outlander PHEV #1 In Reshuffled Ranking

With 176 plug-ins sold in the first half of 2016, the growth registered in NZ has slowed down significantly, up only 10%, with the EV Share slightly up to 0.25% vs 0.22% in 2015.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is again the undisputed leader (For the third year in a row), with sales up 36% YoY.

Below the japanese SUV, six of the ten models are all new to New Zealand, with the surviving ones being the BMW i3 (#2 with 32 units), Audi A3 e-Tron (#6 with 9 units, down 60% YoY) and Porsche Cayenne PHEV (#7, with 4 units).

The most notable absence is the Nissan Leaf, NZ's Best Selling EV in 2012 and the second most common plug-in in this market. With Nissan giving up on this market at this point, only time will tell if it was a good business decision... 

Among this year rookies,  the best performers are the Volvo XC90 T8 (#3 with 11 units) and the BMW 225xe Act. Tourer (#5 with 10 units).

This market reshuffle increased the PHEV dominion, with plug-in hybrids now owning 73% of the market, up 6% regarding the 67% share of 2015.

Pl	New Zealand	June	YTD '16	%	'15Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	22	91	52	1
2 3 3 5 6 7 8	BMW i3 Volvo XC90 T8 Tesla Model S BMW 225xe Active Tourer Audi A3 e-Tron Porsche Cayenne Plug-In BMW X5 40e	14 2 1 4 1 1	32 11 11 10 9 4 3	18 6 6 6 5 2 2	2 N/A 5 N/A 4 6 N/A
9 9 11	Renault Kangoo ZE Renault Zoe BMW 330e		2 2 1	1 1 1	N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL		45	176	100

Source: mia.org.nz

Plug-Ins Versus Regular Hybrids

Pl	Model	2016 YTD
1	Toyota Camry Hybrid	195
2	Toyota Prius C	146
3	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	91
4	Toyota Corolla Hybrid	53
5	Lexus NX300h / RX450h	53

  
If we combine regular hybrid sales with plug-ins, only the Outlander PHEV shows decent numbers against Toyota's products, but even so, far from the leader Camry Hybrid. 

New Zealand December 2015 (Updated)

Best. Name Plate. Ever.

Outlander PHEV #1 In Flat Year Edition

With 283 plug-ins sold in 2015, the explosive growth registered last year in NZ has slowed down significantly, up only 16%, with the EV Share slightly up to 0.22% vs 0.20% in 2014.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the undisputed leader, although sales were down from the 197 units of last year.

Below the japanese SUV, the BMW i3 dethroned the Nissan Leaf from the runner-up position, while the Audi A3 e-Tron had a positive first year, looking able to have a try at #2 in 2016.

This market continues to favor PHEV's, with 67% share, but it has lost 15% share regarding last year.

Pl	New Zealand	Dec.	YTD '15	%	'14Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	9	139	49	1
2 3 4 5	BMW i3 Nissan Leaf Audi A3 e-Tron Tesla Model S	1 7	45 35 30 21	16 12 11 7	3 2 N/A N/A
6 7	Porsche Cayenne Plug-In Holden Volt		8 5	3 2	N/A 3
TOTAL		17	283	100

Source: mia.org.nz

Plug-Ins Versus Regular Hybrids

Pl	Model	2015
1	Toyota Camry Hybrid	381
2	Toyota Prius C	369
3	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	139
4	Lexus RX450h	73
5	Lexus CT200h	53

  
If we combine regular hybrid sales with plug-ins, only the Outlander PHEV shows decent numbers against Toyota's products, but even so, far from the leader Camry Hybrid. A lot has to be done in this market, as even the Lexus CT200h outsells every plug-in not named Outlander PHEV...

New Zealand September 2015 (Updated)

Best. Name Plate. Ever.

Race for #2 Edition

With 228 plug-ins sold to date, the explosive growth registered last year in NZ has slowered to much slower rate, up only 16%, with the EV Share at 0.24% vs 0.20% last year.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the undisputed leader, although sales are down from the 159 units of last year to the current 110 sales, were buyers waiting for the restyled model?

Below the japanese SUV, there is an interesting race developing between the BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf, with the japanese trying to recover the runner-up position won last year.


Finally, the Tesla Model S climbs to #5, thanks to 4 sales last month, its best performance here.

Pl	New Zealand	Sep.	YTD '15	%	'14Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	19	110	48	1
2 3 4 5	BMW i3 Nissan Leaf Audi A3 e-Tron Tesla Model S	4 4 1 4	37 34 27 8	16 15 12 4	3 2 N/A N/A
6 7	Porsche Cayenne Plug-In Holden Volt		7 5	3 2	N/A 3
TOTAL		32	228

Source: mia.org.nz

New Zealand June 2015

RIP

Outlander PHEV #1 Edition

With 160 plug-ins sold to date, the explosive growth registered last year in NZ is down to a slower rate, up 15% regarding the same period last year, with the EV Share now at 0.25% vs 0.20% in '14.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV continues to lead, although sales are down 42% regarding last year, is this the real demand for the japanese SUV or are buyers waiting for the restyled model?

All other models (Except the soon dead Holden Volt) register sales increases, with the Nissan Leaf recovering last month the Third spot from the Audi A3 e-Tron.

A final note on the Holden Volt performance, numbers were never significant (5 units in 2012, two in '13, 9 last year), high prices and small consumer awareness lead to these disappointing results...But now that the EV market is gaining visibility and there's a new, improved (and cheaper) Volt right around the corner, what does GM do? They cancel the Holden Volt Mk2!!! But, why?!?!? All it was needed was to change the logo!!! And i thought OLD GM had gone away for good...

Pl	New Zealand	June	YTD '15	%	'14Pl
1	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	14	67	42	1
2 3 4	BMW i3 Nissan Leaf Audi A3 e-Tron	3 5 3	31 25 23	19 16 14	3 2 N/A
5 5 7	Holden Volt Porsche Cayenne Plug-In Tesla Model S		5 5 4	3 3 3	3 N/A N/A
TOTAL		25	160

Source: mia.org.nz