UK Q1 2018 (Top 5)

New Leaf new Number One

Some 14,000 plug-ins were sold in Q1 2018, up a moderate 11% YoY, and with the PEV Share now at 1.8% share, expect this market finally to go North of the 2% barrier later this year.

Looking at the models ranking, the new Nissan Leaf landed with a bang, even displacing the Four Consecutive Times Best Seller Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from the leadership, but with a revised version set to land in August/September, expect the Japanese SUV domination to resume some time later.

Another model that was surpassed by the Japanese Hatchback was the BMW 330e, that is now in Third Place.

The remaining top positions went to the #4 BMW 530e, up five positions regarding the previous year, and confirming its warm welcome among British company buyers, while another fleet-friendly model, the VW Passat GTE, is the new Fifth Placed.

In the manufacturers ranking, BMW (21%) profits from its extensive lineup to go ahead, followed from a far by Nissan (16% Share), with Mitsubishi running in Third, with 13% share.

Pl	UK	Mar.	2018	%	Pl. '17
1	Nissan Leaf	1,625	2,050	15	3
2	Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	1,276	1,852	13	1
3 4 5	BMW 330e BMW 530e VW Passat GTE Others	665 410 466 4,844	1,136 804 714 7,563	8 6 5 53	2 9 11
	TOTAL	9,286	14,119	100

Source: https://www.nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/statistics/

Czech Republic July 2018

VW e-Golf takes the lead

The EV Market in Czech Republic is up 64%, with 579 units sold so far this year, with the PEV Share slightly up to 0.4%, a new record in this BEV-friendly (67% of PEVs) market, with the added bonus that all-electrics are growing faster (+83%) than PHEVs.

Looking at the models ranking, the VW e-Golf has took off to a lone #1 position, with 146 registrations this year, twice as much units as the #2 BMW i3.

The Nissan Leaf is secure in Third Place, looking to repeat the Bronze Medal won last year.

Elsewhere. good performances for the Tesla Model X, up to #7 since last March, while the Hyundai Ioniq Electric did even better, jumping to Fifth, thanks to a record performance last month, where it registered 9 units.

In the brands ranking, an important development is happening, as BMW (25%), having won every Manufacturers title since 2014, is losing to Volkswagen, now with 33% share, will we see VW break BMW's domination and win its first Manufacturers title? 

The last place of the podium is now in the hands of Nissan, with 12%, with Tesla following suit, with 9%.

Source: SDA CIA

Sweden July 2018

19% Share! *

We start July with Sweden, the local plug-in market was up 96% YoY, with 2,340 registrations, helping the yearly tally to grow 65% regarding the same period last year, with the 2018 PEV Share recovering 0.5%, to 6.5%. Will we see the 2018 PEV share beat the all-time high of 7.2% (March '18) by September? And could it reach 9% when the year ends? One thing is certain, two-digit monthly results should become the norm from now on...

* - A new fiscal system started on July 1st, where regular ICE models see their taxes increased (Malus), with the same being partially true regarding HEVs and low-range PHEVs, to the profit of eficiente, longer-range PHEVs, and BEVs, which helps to explain why big SUV PHEVs basically disappeared this month, and the general market sank (-49% last month), while some PHEVs had a sales surge last month. So: general market sinks + PEVs grow = 19% share.

As expected, the major growth engine were all-electric models, that surged 173% YoY, after months of falling sales, while PHEVs maintained their YTD growth (+82% YoY) in July, by increasing sales by 82%...Why haven't plug-in hybrid sales dropped? Because the more efficient, longer range PHEVs also benefit from the new system, to the profit of Korean PHEVs, but more on that below...

Also telling of the new times, Diesel sales sank even harder in July, with this fuel representing only 23%(!) of last month sales, a giant 25%(!!!) drop over the 48% of July '17, and to attest the influence that the new system had on sales, Diesel dropped 21% share, from June to July...Will this earth-moving change continue, or will Diesel recover over time?

One thing is certain, if previously i believed that Diesel sales could be dead here by 2022/3. Now, i think it could be even earlier, maybe by 2021. And to think that in 2012, Diesel had 67% of the market...

Looking at last month Best Sellers, a few significant changes happened, the Kia Niro PHEV broke the VW Passat GTE/Mitsu Outlander PHEV rule, by winning its first Monthly Best-Seller prize, thanks to a record 437 deliveries, while the Renault Zoe took full advantage of the new system, by ending the month in Fourth, with a record 126 registrations. Will this mean that Sweden will finally open up to the French hatchback?

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Kia Niro PHEV	437
2	VW Passat GTE	430
3	Kia Optima PHEV	294
4	Renault Zoe	126
5	Volvo S/V90 PHEV	116

Looking at the 2018 ranking, several changes happened due to the new system, the main news were the Korean PHEVs all reaching record performances, allowing them to climb in the ranking, the Kia Optima PHEV was up one position to #3, the Kia Niro PHEV ditto, to #5, while the Hyundai Ioniq PHEV joined the Top 20, thanks to a record 69 registrations. Koreans are rising...

Other significant changes were the expected climb of BEVs in the table, with the Renault Zoe going to #9, the Tesla Model S up one position to #12, while the VW e-Golf jumped two places, to #16, thanks to a Year Best performance of 54 units.

The current BEV leader, the Nissan Leaf, had a surprisingly low performance, by registering only 62 units, are there allocation problems, or are Swedes simply not into the new Leaf?

One thing is certain, its French cousin Zoe is closing in and could reclaim the BEV leadership soon. 

In the manufacturers ranking, Volvo is still in the lead (21%), but the #2 Volkswagen (20%, up 1%), and #3 Kia (17%, +1%), and getting closer, while #4 BMW (10%, down 2%) is suffering due to their heavy reliance on short range PHEVs. 

Having PHEVs in the lineup is not enough anymore BMW,  now you need to increase their ranges...

Source: bilsweden

Models breakdown by Fuel Source

Pl	Model	June
1 2	VW Golf ICE Kia Niro PHEV	654 437
3 4 5	VW Passat GTE VW Polo ICE Volvo XC40 ICE	430 376 368
6 7	VW Tiguan ICE Kia Optima PHEV	326 294
8	Toyota Yaris Hybrid	280
9 10	Skoda Fabia ICE Volvo S/V90 ICE	273 262

With plug-ins  in July reaching a Norway-like 19% share of sales, the general ranking is starting to see PEVs pop up like flowers in Spring. As such, breaking down sales by fuel source, we have three PHEVs in the Top 10, two of them (Kia Niro PHEV and VW Passat GTE) in podium positions, while the Kia Optima PHEV is #7. 

In a sea of ICE Volkswagens and Volvos, the Korean Kia has placed two models, which is telling of the disruptive force of plug-ins ("If our regular dealers do not have them, we just move to something new"), hear that, VW and Volvo?

It will be interesting to see if this ranking will be continue to be impacted by the new system, and also to know if regular hybrids can recover ground.