Markets Roundup August 2013

A good month for the Volt

Records Month

August was a good month for EV's, with plenty of records being beaten, so let's make a review of the main ones:

EV Monthly Sales:

USA - 11.078 Units;
Netherlands - 948 Units;
Norway - 680 Units.

Personal records:

Chevrolet Volt (USA) - 3.351 Units; 
Chevrolet Volt (Netherlands) - 479 Units;
Chevrolet Volt (Europe) - 480 Units;
Nissan Leaf (USA) - 2.420 Units;
Nissan Leaf (France) - 148 Units;
Ford Fusion Energi (USA) - 600 Units;
Smart Fortwo ED (USA) - 182 units;
Toyota RAV4 EV (USA) - 231 Units;
Tesla Model S (Norway) - 185 Units
Tesla Model S (Europe) - 267 Units.

Winner of the Month: Chevrolet Volt 

The Chevrolet Volt had a bang up month, not only established three personal sales records (USA, Europe and Netherlands), it also collected three monthly #1's in those three markets, when last month it had...none. Good job, Chevrolet.

Trends in the G7 

The aforementioned sales boom in the USA, where things continue pretty tight between the first two, contributed greatly for the increased importance of this market in the global EV sales, in August the US EV Market represented 68%(!) of all worldwide sales. 

By the way, North America is on fire regarding plug-in sales, with just 8 months passed, not only the US has beaten their monthly record, it has also beaten the 2012 total sales number (58.802 units in '13 vs 54.950 in '12), just like Canada (2.035 vs 1.969).

In France, the Zoe is falling behind expectations, in Norway the Leaf has already beaten the previous YTD sales record for a single model (2.298 units for the Leaf in '12), with still 4 months to go and Tesla is out to get the silver medal, while in the Netherlands the Ampera/Volt twins are recovering and the Volvo V60 Plug-In is a surprise success.

The last third of the year should see sales rise sharply in markets like the Netherlands, Norway and Germany thanks to new models with long waiting lists (Outlander Plug-In, Tesla Model S, BMW i3...). 

Looking at EV shares, the only country in a downward trend is Japan, while Norway (3,73%), Holland (1,62%) and the USA (0,55%) saw their EV shares increase significantly. 

Other Markets

Switzerland is the second EV Market where Tesla Model S is #1, after three monthly #1's in the USA early this year, Elon Musk's baby was the best selling EV in August, with 42 units.

Iceland had another record month, with 17 units sold, while Denmark had its best month of the year, with 53 units, reinforcing the idea that countries in Northern Europe are increasingly embracing plug-ins.

It's also worth mentioning that the Russian Government purchased 70 Mitsubishi I-Miev and that 45 BYD e6 Taxis were delivered in Bogota, capital of Colombia.


Questions for September

How much more sales records will be beaten?

Who will be the US #1?

Who will be #1 in the Netherlands?

Will the Zoe recover?

Will the BMW i3 reach #1 in Germany?

In which european country will the Tesla Model S perform better?