Global Top 20 - April 2019

How high will the Kona EV go?

Models: Hyundai Kona EV joins the Top 10

Registrations grew 29% YoY in April, to over 166.000 units, pulling the year to date count to over 662.000 (+52% YoY), and the April PEV share hitting 2,1%, in line with the 2019 result (2,1%). 

The market slowdown can be mostly attributed to PHEVs, as BEVs grew faster than the plugin average, with +43% YoY, allowing them to outsell plugin hybrids, with all-electrics having 71% of the plugin market last month. 

After March's record-breaking performance of the Tesla Model 3, this month things were noticeably quieter in the front, with the first position change happening only in #5, with the BYD e5 surpassing its BYD Tang PHEV sibling.

The Geely Emgrand EV climbed one spot, to #8, and with the #7 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV only 693 units ahead, the Chinese sedan could climb higher soon.

Two small Chinese EVs climbed positions last month, with the Chery eQ (4.129 units, new year best), climbing to #11, while the JAC iEV E-Series jumped two spots, to #18.

The Hyundai Kona EV continues to climb the ranking steps, now joining the Top 10, and could rise even further as the year (and battery supply) develops;

Finally, a mention to two models, with the BMW 530e/Le twins jumping two spots, to #13, thanks to 4.431 units, with the majority of them being registered in China, while the Roewe Ei5 hit a year best score of 4.003 registrations, now being the Best Selling SAIC in the ranking.

Manufacturers: Tesla and BYD play in a different league

April saw Tesla and BYD run at neck-breaking pace, with both almost doubling the deliveries of the #3 SAIC. 

For now, BYD is running ahead, with close to a 9.000 units lead, that should keep it in #1 in May, but with Tesla expected to have another deliveries peak in June, things can change then.  

Returning to the little league, in the race for the 3rd spot, SAIC won some lead over the competition, with BAIC sinking and BMW and Nissan climbing one spot each.

Looking elsewhere, Volkswagen had a record performance, with 8.235 registrations, most of them coming from China, so we could be witnessing the first moments of the "Empire Strikes Back" move, and that's still without the ID family (and new Passat GTE) reaching the market...It seems the news of the VW death were widely exagerated, weren't they?

JAC jumped two spots, to #13, and the #15 Chery were the climbers of the month, but the most surprising move was Toyota climbing two spots, to #17, mostly thanks to their Chinese operations (read PHEV Corolla), that outsold the Prius PHEV.

So, BMW, VW and Toyota were all benefiting from the Chinese market to climb positions in the ranking. Do you see a trend here?...

Global Top 20 - March 2019

Models: Tesla Model 3 Tsunami (Global edition)

Registrations grew 53%  YoY in March, to over 224.000 units, pulling the year to date count to half a million (+58% YoY), with Chinese plugins representing 50% of all deliveries, with March PEV share hitting 2,8%, allowing the 2019 number to cross North of the 2% mark. 

BEVs grew faster than the plugin average, at +77% YoY, allowing them to gain share (+4%) over PHEVs, with all-electrics scoring 74% of the market last month. 

If the headlining news in March was the record-breaking performance of the Tesla Model 3 (over 33.000 units!), allowing the Tesla midsizer to already double the deliveries of the runner-up BYD Yuan EV, below it, we see a number of interesting moves:

- The BAIC EU-Series scored a record performance, with over 13.000 deliveries, allowing it to jump 7 spots, to 4th, with the sedan now being the maker bread and butter model;

- Another Chinese sedan jumping positions is the BYD e5, up 4 spots to #6, while two BMW hit record numbers, with the i3 hot hatch registering 4.038 units last month (who said the Model 3 would eat the BMW i3 lunch?...) and climbing one place to #11, while the 530e sedan scored 4.564 units, jumping 5 positions to #15;

- The Hyundai Kona continues to climb the ranking, now at #12, and should rise even further as the year (and battery supply) develops;

Elsewhere, the evergreen Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV scored its best result since 2015, with 5.725 registrations, an admirable success story for the Japanese brand, especially considering the current headwinds that PHEVs are experiencing. 

Finally, a mention to two re-entries, after a horrible start of the year, the Toyota Prius PHEV returned to the company of the Best Sellers, while the recent Great Wall Ora R1 EV also joined the Top 20, at #18, thanks to a record 4.002 units, and with its larger sibling Ora iQ5 EV crossover at #21, both Ora nameplates are set to become regular Top 20 faces.

Manufacturers: Tesla edges closer to BYD

March saw Tesla come closer to the leader BYD, thanks to a near-record 38.000 deliveries, but BYD was also in warp speed (29.000 units),  so we should see an entertaining Q2 '19 race between these two plugin giants. 

Leaving the fast and furious league, to see the race for the 3rd spot, SAIC is still ahead of the competition, but saw them getting closer, particularly BAIC, that after a horror-movie start of the year, is back with a vengeance, jumping 7 spots to 4th, willing to steal the Bronze medal from its Shanghai rival.

Looking elsewhere, two manufacturers had record performances, with Great Wall jumping to #10, thanks to 7.141 units, mostly thanks to its Ora EV sub-brand, as the WEY plugins haven't really set the market on fire…

Kia had also a record 5.247 units, with both Niro's (BEV and PHEV) pulling the Korean ship upwards.

At the bottom of the ranking, Renault climbed one spot, to #14, with the Chinese JAC and Hawtai also climbing positions, to #15 and #17, respectively.

Global Top 20 - February 2019

Models: Tesla Model 3 back at #1 in slowing market

After an amazing January, registrations slowed down significantly, growing just 31%  YoY in February, to over 110.000 units. 

It is important to signal that last month, registrations were above 100.000 units, and because the first two months of the year are historically the two slowest selling of each year, if both stayed above the 100k mark, it will mean that from now on, we will see always six-figure performances. And to think the first time that the global market surpassed the 100k in one month was little more than two years ago (December 2016)... 

BEVs grew faster than the plugin average, at 55% YoY, allowing them to no have 70% of the market (71% YTD), while the Global PEV share slowed down from last month result of 1.9%, to only 1.4%, with the 2019 result now at 1.7%. 

With March promising to be a record-breaking month in several markets, it looks like a global 2%-plus score can be achieved next month.

With the Chinese EV market slowing down significantly in February (holiday season, over there), the assault made in January was reversed last month, not only the Tesla Model 3 recovered its natural place (leadership), dropping the BYD Yuan EV to 2nd Place, but most Chinese models lost positions, with only three  of them improving positions (BYD Tang PHEV climbed one position to #4, Chery eQ was up two spots to #8, while the Geely Emgrand EV jumped to #9).

With this downfall in Chinese EVs, Legacy OEM plugins had the opportunity to recover positions, with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV leading the charge, in #6, while its Automotive Group team mate Renault Zoe was up two spots, to #7, while its arch-rival BMW i3 also rised, to #12.  

The Hyundai Kona continues to climb the ranking, now at #14, and should rise even further as the year develops.

As for the remaining ranking, it is rather surprising to see the VW e-Golf showing up in #16, and it will be interesting to see how long does it stay in the Top 20, especially once the upcoming ID hatchback becomes closer to reality. 

Finally, a mention to two re-entries, after a horrible January, the Tesla Model X returned to the company of the Best Sellers, while the BMW 530e also joined the Top 20, managing this year to outsell the Tesla Model S and thus become the temporary Best Selling full size car on the PEV ranking.

Tesla's flagship is really needing a refresh...And above all, a price-competitive version!

Manufacturers: Tesla climbs to #2

February saw Tesla climb to Second Place, but the leader BYD is still too far off (or is it?) for the Californian company to race it for the leadership in March, so we should see an entertaining Q2 '19 race between these two. 

In the race for the 3rd spot, SAIC is ahead of the competition, but lost some edge over the competition, with Nissan, BMW and Geely cutting (a tad) the distance to the Shanghai maker, and with all three having aces up their sleeves for the coming months, we should see an interesting race for Bronze.

Looking elsewhere, three manufacturers took this month to jump positions, with both Mitsubishi and Volvo joining the Top 10, while Kia was up six positions, to #13, profiting from the popularity of the Niro EV.

BAIC continues tumbling down, now dropping to #11, with rumours saying that they are experiencing problems at their plants, thus preventing them to fulfill orders.

At the bottom of the ranking, we see two old faces rejoining the Top 20, with Toyota jumping to #19 (the Chinese Corolla PHEV is already doing wonders…), while Chevrolet is now #20, although the question is...For how long?