BYD steps up
After the usual off-season (January and February),
March came and sales surged to 59,000 units, up 85% YoY, with the 2018 sales
doubling regarding the same period last year, to over 122,000 units.
Consequently, the 2018 PEV share surged to 1.8%, not
that far off from the 2.1% of 2017, and with sales expected to pick up
significantly as the year advances, the 2018 PEV share should end North of the 3%
threshold.
Last month, the Chinese OEMs represented roughly 40%
of all PEVs registered globally, an impressive number, that is sure to increase
during 2018, possibly even beating the 46% record of last year.
With symbolic export numbers, the domestic market is
more than enough to absorb the current Chinese production, helped by the fact
that it is still a protected market and foreign OEMs hadn’t yet looked
seriously at this niche, but with PEV quotas to be fulfilled in the near
future, foreign brands are finally putting an effort, proof of that is that
overseas makers now have a record 7% share. Of this (small) cake, 3% belong to
Tesla, 2% to BMW, and 1% to Cadillac(!), with the remaining manufacturers
sharing the final 1%.
In March, the main news was BYD stepping up
production, having its second-best month ever (13,100 units), only below the
16,000 units of last December. With a new Qin sedan and Tang SUV coming soon,
expect the Chinese carmaker to start posting 20,000-plus performances in the
second half of the year, securing another Manufacturers Title (Its 6th) in its
home market, while on the Global stage, it could be the only OEM playing in the
same league as Tesla, once the Californian brand finally steps out of the 9
circles of Production Hell.
Here’s March
Top 5 Best Selling models individual performance:
#1 – BAIC EC-Series: After a disappointing February,
the EC-Series is back on track, having registered 7,818 units last month, up 117% YoY. Sure, it’s not the 16,000
registrations of last November, but the little EV continues being disruptive in
the Chinese market, winning 6 of the last 7 Monthly Best-Selling trophies. A trendy
design helps the EC-Series to be a popular choice in the Chinese Mega-Cities,
where the 200 kms range are enough to run around the urban jungle.
#2 – BYD
Song PHEV: Build Your
Dreams (BYD) current star product had 4,685
registrations in March, the nameplate’s best result in the last 8 months. If
the 2018 Best Selling PHEV title seems to be destined to stay with it, one
questions if BYD’s “Model Y” can also reach the sales level of the BAIC
EC-Series. Consistency seems to be BYD’s forte,
so do not expect it to jump much beyond 5,000 units/month.
#3 – JAC iEV7S/E: JAC is one of the EV pioneers in
China, selling plug-ins since 2010, and now with its iEV Crossover, it’s back
at the game, registering 4.603
units last month. With a competitive price of USD 26,000 before incentives,
this is a vehicle targeted at trendy urbanites that for some reason can’t reach
a BYD Song or Roewe’s eRX5, getting in return a good-looking compact vehicle
(Kia Soul-sized), with just enough power and range (114 hp / 251 kms) to not to
make it look bad.
#4 – BYD e5: BYD’s Plain Jane electric sedan, a favorite among taxi-drivers, registered
3,798 units in March, a new record for
the nameplate. Offering 97% of the Qin specs (48 kWh battery, 300 kms range,
218 hp) in a less fancy suit, for a significantly lower price, the model is a
bit of an unsung hero in the BYD stable, as the 70,000 units sold so far mean
that it is the third bestselling PEV, behind the Qin and Tang models.
#5 – BYD Qin PHEV: The most common plug-in in China
(140,000 units) had another good performance in March, with 3,361 units, being BYD’s “Model 3” seventh
consecutive “3 to 4 thousand units/month”
result (Talk about consistency!). Considering a new Qin is coming in a fewmonths, it is surprising the current one is still going strong. As for the new
generation, sales above 5,000/month should become the norm, rivaling the Song
as the Best Selling BYD.
| Hawtai xEV260 |
2018 ranking
Outside the top
positions, that had no major surprises, there were several positive
performances below the podium, like the Hawtai xEV260 compact SUV posting its
first four-digit performance (1,350 units), allowing it to show up for the
first time on the Top 20, in…#20. Speaking of compact SUVs, the Roewe eRX5 PHEV
posted a year best performance, by registering 2,303 units.
Significant
changes on the ranking only happened below the Eighth place, but the BYD e5
jump from nowhere into #9 was nothing short of remarkable, and with the Sixth
spot not that far away, I wouldn’t rule out three BYD’s on the Top 6 soon.
There were was
another nameplate storming through the Top 20, the Tesla Model X returned to
the Top 20, in #15, recovering the Best Selling foreign nameplate status, ahead
of the BMW X1 PHEV, but despite being surpassed by the Tesla Sports-Minivan-SUV, the German SUV had
its best month so far, with 854 deliveries, allowing it to climb three
positions, into #16.
Looking at
the manufacturers ranking, BYD is back at the leader’s throne, having increased
its lead to 7% (24% vs 17%), over the runner-up BAIC, will the Beijing
automaker be able to step up the pace and recover ground?
In Third
Place we have a close race, with the Shanghai-based Roewe (11%) being closely
followed by JAC (10%), this tight duel does not have a clear favorite, but if I
had to bet, I would go for Roewe, has the Shanghai carmaker lineup is less
dependent from a single model performance.
