Germany October 2019

Open the (PHEV) Flood Gates!

Some kind of click happened in the German plugin market after the Summer holidays, having scored a record month (9,452 registrations) in September, October came and yet a new record was set, this time 26%(!) above the previous one, with 11,926 being registered, more than doubling last year result, with China's PEV market in post-subsidies blues, this is a welcome boost to global sales, now if only the US market helped to carry the burden...

Despite BEVs continuing to grow at a fast pace (+47% YoY), this time all the lights were focused on PHEVs (+248%!!!), with several models hitting record results, allowing the PEV Share to reach a record 4.1% share last month, with PHEVs alone hitting a best ever 2.4%, pulling the 2019 plugin share to 2.9% (1.7% BEV).

October brought a surprise leader to the monthly leadership, with Mercedes opening the flood gates to the E300e/de twins, and the luxury twins hitting 1,564 deliveries, a new monthly record for any plugin hybrid in Germany. Suddenly, the current PEV record of the Tesla Model 3 (2,224 units, last March) doesn't seem so unattainable...

But the Daimler Group didn't stopped there, with the smaller Mercedes C300e/de coming out of nowhere to 3rd, with 748 units, a new record for the midsize nameplate, while both Smart models also shined, with the smaller Fortwo EV ending the month in 4th, with 746 units, its best result since December '17, while the slightly larger Forfour EV reached 320 units, its best score in 19 months.

The remaining two spots in the Top 5 went to the local heroes BMW i3 (#2, with 861 units), and VW e-Golf (#5, 723), with the last one continuing to impress by its vitality, even with its successor showing up in bilboards everywhere.

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Mercedes E300e/de	1,564
2	BMW i3	861
3	Mercedes C300e/de	748
4	Smart Fortwo EV	746
5	VW e-Golf	723

Regarding the YTD table, remember last month when i said the BMW i3 only had 10% of becoming the 2019 Best Seller?

Well, things have changed for the better for the Bimmer, with the leader Renault Zoe scoring just 458 units last month, its lowest result this year, due to the current generation change, and the Tesla Model 3 delivering the usual slow (221 units) first month of the quarter performance, the German hatchback took the opportunity to displace the Californian from the runner-up spot, while at the same time it reduced the distance to the leader Renault Zoe to just 124 units.

With only 2 games (months) to play, this is now a 3 horse race, with only 431 units separating the top 3, the BMW i3 continues to depend from two unknown variables: how fast will the new Zoe be delivered in large volumes, and will the Model 3 allocation be impacted by the inflated deliveries in the Netherlands.

If the Zoe and Model 3 underperform next month, then the BMW i3 could earn just enough distance to sustain the December peaks of its two competitors and win the Best Seller prize.

One thing is certain, this is probably the most exciting race among the top markets, so don't forget to bring the popcorns...

Outside the podium, there's plenty to talk about, the Mercedes E300e/de twins jumped 4 positions, to #7, and could even aim for a Top 5 spot until year end, and despite its arch rival BMW 530e also scoring a personal best, its 543 units pale next to the 1,564 of the Mercedes...Anyway, not all is bad, as this performance allowed the 5-Series to climb to #9.

In fact, this result from the 530e was just one out of many record results in the BMW stable, as the Bavarian carmaker, apparently also opened its PHEV gates, leading to record results in 5(!) of its plugin hybrids, besides the aforementioned 530e, the 225xe Active Tourer (592 units), the new 330e (438 units), the new X5 PHEV (76) and even the 745e barge (129) hit their personal bests last month.

But the PHEV resurgence didn't ended there, with the #14 Mini Countryman PHEV scoring a record 321 units, while the #20 Volvo XC60 PHEV scored a new personal best performance for the 2nd time in a row (158 units).

If we see good performances coming from plugin hybrids on the Top 20, outside the ranking the numbers are also significant: the new Audi Q5 PHEV did 147 registrations, while one of the surprises of the month was the Porsche Cayenne PHEV hitting an amazing 596 units score, a new record for any Porsche nameplate. 

In the middle of all these PHEV record numbers, there was one BEV also doing a personal best, with the revised Hyundai Ioniq Electric profiting from its first full month to score a record 269 units.

In the brands ranking, BMW (22%, up 2%) is the clear leader, with the Tesla (11%, down 1%) keeping its advantage over the #3 Renault (10%, down 1%).

Outside the podium, we have Mitsubishi (8%), followed by Volkswagen, Mercedes and Hyundai, all with 7% share, and trying to catch the Japanese brand.

Midsize Car Best Sellers

Pl	Model	Oct. Sales
1	Mercedes C-Class	5,742
2	VW Passat	4,475
3	BMW 3-Series	4,426
4	Audi A4	3,010
5	Skoda Superb	1,864

With the Tesla Model 3 in an off month, we have two models with a significant degree of electrification, with the leader Mercedes C-Class having 13% of sales coming from its PHEV versions, while the #3 BMW 3-Series has 10% share. 

Outside these two, the #2 VW Passat only has 3% share coming from its PHEV version, but expect this to increase significantly in the coming months, while the #5 Skoda Superb is also said to start delivering its PHEV version in a couple of months.

Which will leave the Audi A4 as the only unplugged model in a few months...Until when?

Midsize SUV Best Sellers

Pl	Model	Oct. Sales
1	Mercedes GLC	4,895
2	BMW X3	2,213
3	Audi Q5	1,737
4	Volvo XC60	1,586
5	Mitsubishi Outlander	838

If the Top 2 models are (still) very much ICE models, the following ones are already electrified, in various degrees, from the 8% PHEV share of the Audi Q5, or the 10% of the Volvo XC60, to the 61% of the Mitsubishi Outlander.

This last performance begs the question: When will Mitsubishi make the Outlander an entirely plugin model?

Anyway, 3 electrified models out of 5 is already something...

Full Size Car Best Sellers

Pl	Model	Oct. Sales
1	Mercedes E-Class	5,511
2	Audi A6	3,341
3	BMW 5-Series	3,159
4	Volvo S/V90	454
5 5	BMW 7-Series Mercedes S-Class	378 378

Funny enough, with the exception of the #2 Audi A6, all other models have PHEV versions, and this month we have some pretty decent shares in their overall sales, with the leader Mercedes E-Class hitting 28%, the #3 BMW 5-Series reaching 17%, the same value of the Volvo S/V90 twins, and while tied in #5, with 378 units, the flagships BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class have very different plugin shares in their portfolio (34% for the BMW, 9% for the Mercedes).

Full Size SUV Best Sellers

Pl	Model	Oct. Sales
1	BMW X5	1,333
2	Porsche Cayenne	1,189
3	Mercedes GLE	1,031
4	VW Touareg	945
5	Volvo XC90	557

The full size SUV category is also increasing its electrification share, with the leader BMW X5 slowly increasing its plugin share (6% of sales now come from the PHEV version), and the #5 Volvo XC90 growing its PHEV share to 15%, all while the Porsche Cayenne increased significantly its electrification share (50% of sales!) last month. Is the Taycan success inspiring Porsche to move faster into plugins?

With the new long range PHEV version of the Mercedes GLE set to land soon, the BMW X5 PHEV expected to increase sales significantly in a couple of months, the VW Touareg will become the only unplugged model among the Best Sellers.

For how long, Volkswagen? 

France October 2019

All the young dudes

The French PEV passenger car market registered 6,433 registrations in October, up 65% YoY, and this time it's the plugin hybrids (+118%) to pull the market up, with BEVs growing just 53%.

The October result (3.4%) pulled the 2019 PEV share to 2.7%, with BEVs alone having 1.9% share. 

With plugin hybrids growing faster than pure electrics, BEVs saw their lead (71% vs 29% share), be reduced by 1%, but expect BEVs to rebound in the following two months, thanks mainly to great scores of the Top 2 models.  

Which takes us to last month Best Selling models, with the new Renault Zoe starting to be delivered, the nameplate hit 1,939 units, its best performance this year.

Elsewhere, we have two surprises in the Top 5, in #2 we have the restyled Smart Fortwo EV, that scored 491 units, a new record for the nameplate, while the Porsche Cayenne came out of nowhere to #4, thanks to 300 registrations. 

A demand peak, or will the Porsche SUV become a regular customer of the Top 5? To be continued... 

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Renault Zoe	1,939
2	Smart Fortwo EV	491
3	Nissan Leaf	363
4	Por. Cayenne PHEV	300
5	Mit. Outlander PHEV	267:

In a market usually known for its stability, it seems the French market wants to ditch the "Most boring plugin market in the world" title to the USA, as this time there is plenty to talk about, like...

Thanks to their recent restyling, both Smart nameplates hit record performances last month, with the Fortwo EV registering 491 units, while the (slightly) larger Forfour EV scored 98 units. The tiny two-seater profited from the record result to jump two positions, to #8.

But it wasn't just the Daimler brand to reach new heights, Hyundai-Kia also had reasons to smile about, with both Kia Niro versions shining, with the e-Niro scoring 253 units, its best result since March, while the Niro PHEV scored a record 170 units. 

In the Hyundai side, the new Ioniq has landed, with both versions hitting record results (120 units for the PHEV, 174 for the EV), alllowing the plugin hybrid to climb to #14, while the Electric version joined the Top 20, in #18.

Another surprising nameplate to join the ranking was the evergreen VW e-Golf, that hit a record 105 units last month, an amazing feat for an EV that has its sucessor already being advertised all over Europe.

If there are a bunch of interesting things going on in the Top 20, it is below that we find a series of newly arrived models that should become Top 20 presences soon, many of them coming from the PSA stable, like the just landed DS 3 Crossback EV, that scored 110 units in its landing month, the DS 7 Crossback PHEV (81 units), or the Peugeot 508 PHEV (40). 

Oh, and a certain Peugeot 208 EV has also landed last month, if only with 50 registrations...But do not get fooled, the small hatchback will be the star of the new (and ever growing) PSA plugin lineup, possibly running with the Zoe for the 2020 Best Seller title.

Ouside the Peugeot-Citroen orbit, we also welcome the new BMW 330e, that registered 110 units last month and should be a Top 20 presence soon.

In the brands ranking, Renault (30%, down 1%), continues in the leading position, while Tesla (12%, down 1%) is firm in the 2nd spot, all while Kia, BMW and Nissan (all with 7%)  are running for the last place in the podium. 

Norway October 2018

Audi e-Tron wins in slow month

Last month, BEVs registrations were shockingly down (-17% YoY), while PHEVs had their first positive month this year, growing 20% YoY, with all-electrics losing share regarding the same month last year (36% now vs 39% then), but with the last minute help from PHEVs (23% share in October), last month plugin share was 59%, keeping the 2019 PEV share at 56%.

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Regarding the October Top Sellers, this time the Audi e-Tron was the winner, with a record 873 deliveries, its first trophy so far, followed by its VW Group realative, the e-Golf, that scored another 740 registrations, seemingly immmune to the shadow of the ID.3.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was 3rd, with its best result since March, while the Nissan Leaf is profiting from the 62 kWh version to stay among the best.

Finally, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric scored its best result ever, with 413 registrations, earning it a rare Top 5 presence.

Looking at the 2019 ranking, the main news was the Audi e-Tron climbing to 4th, with the remaining changes all happening in the second half of the table:

- The Volvo XC60 PHEV climbed to #11, thanks to a year best performance of 257 units;.

- In what can only be described as a positive month for Volvo, its S/V60 PHEV twins were also up, it this case to #13, scoring 355 registrations last month, a new record for the midzise car nameplate. 

- Another plugin hybrid on the rise is the Mini Countryman PHEV, that was up one position, to #19..

Outside the Top 20, a mention to the plugin hybrid renaissance, with several models starting a new life, like the revised VW Passat GTE, with 260 registrations, the new BMW 330e (107 units, new record for the nameplate), the new X5 PHEV (87 units), and even the Porsche Cayenne PHEV is surfing the wave, having scored 55 registrations, its best result since the start of the new WLTP rules, over a year ago.

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, Tesla is uncontested leader (26%, down 2%), being followed by Volkswagen (14%, up 1%), while BMW (10%), is in the last place of the podium. ahead of Hyundai and Nissan (both with 9%).

Models breakdown by Fuel Source

October saw the return of plugin hybrids, with three models in the Top 10, with only two unplugged models present, both coming from the Toyota hybrid stable, with the RAV 4 hybrid in #6 and the Yaris in #9.

The top 5 spots were 100% PEV, with all-electric models continuing to be the majority of models (5 out of 10).

Ukraine October 2019

Tesla Model 3 rules among new registrations...

...While the Nissan Leaf continues to be the king of used imports

With Ukraine being a little known success story in the EV world, in 2018 the PEV share crossed north of the 1% mark in new car sales, while adding used imports to the tally, the score jumps to 5% of registrations, this country demonstrated a winning formula for the electrification of developing countries: Customs clearance for battery electric vehicles, without paying excise taxes and VAT that allows that the private sector to import used EVs from markets where electric vehicles are common (California, Europe, etc), where old EVs like the Nissan Leaf are cheap, as locals disregard them for having low range and looking sooo-2013.  

This way, these EVs instead of gaining dust in used dealer lots of more developed markets,  they gain a new life in these countries, where their cheap prices and running costs are a boon for customers avid for electric cars, but can't reach to the price of a new EV.

This year, Ukraine continues on the right track, with the EV share of new registrations growing to 1.2% (1.5% with PHEVs included), while on the used imports market, BEVs reach 3.3% (4.1% if we include PHEVs to the tally).

So, who are the heroes of this peculiar market?

Looking at first time registrations, the Tesla Model 3 is the 2019 Best Seller, with  some 160 deliveries, followed by the Nissan Leaf and Jaguar i-Pace(!), both at over 100 units.

Adding used imports (6.259 units), things change significantly, with Ukraine's favorite EV Nissan Leaf representing close to  half of the registrations (2.763 units), followed from a far by the Tesla Model S (499 units) and the Renault Kangoo ZE(!), with 419 units.