Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Sweden November 2018

Resultado de imagem para kia optima sw phev

12% Share in a record month! 


We start November with good news in Sweden, with the local plug-in market up 30% YoY, to a record 3.038 registrations, with the yearly tally growing 46% to 25.979 units, and the 2018 PEV Share at a record 8%, thanks to the 12% share of last month. 

Meanwhile, the mainstream market still hasn't recovered from the pre-WLTP surge, dropping 21% last month.

Add this to the fact that BEV registrations are jumping through the roof, with deliveries jumping 361% YoY, to 1.203 units, while PHEVs accentuated their drop (-12%) in November, and we have another sign of seismic changes currently happening.

Right now buyers are running away from fossil-fueled vehicles (PHEVs included) and going in a stampede-like movement into fully electric ones, but because BEVs are currently production constrained, it seems people prefer to wait in line for a BEV, than to buy/lease another ICE-based vehicle.

This starts to become a trend, because it also happens in Iceland and Norway, whenever a market is regularly at over 10%, the mainstream market starts to suffer and decline, as people move away from regular petrol/diesel vehicles.

Speaking of Diesel, the demise of this fuel continues, with only 34% share of sales last month, a full 9% drop from 12 months ago, when it had 43%. At this pace, diesel sales should be dead by 2022...

Looking at last month Best Sellers, with the end of the line of the VW Passat GTE (84 units, worst result in 34 months), the major beneficiary is the Kia Optima PHEV, that hit a record 415 units last month, winning the month Best Seller award.

But the real surprise came in Second Place, with the Nissan Leaf making its best month of its 7 year career in Sweden, by delivering 388 units, while the #3 Volvo XC60 PHEV also performed a record result, with 320 deliveries.

Another telling tale of the changing environment, is that because their PHEV deliveries are falling off a cliff, Volkswagen was forced to promote the supposedly Norway-only e-Golf, with the German hatchback hitting a record 225 deliveries.

Pl
Model
Sales  
1
Kia Optima PHEV
415
2
Nissan Leaf
388
3
Volvo XC60 PHEV
320
4
Mit. Outlander PHEV
316
5
VW e-Golf
225

Looking at the 2018 ranking, a few important changes happened, the main news were the Nissan Leaf switching places with the Volvo V60 PHEV, with the Japanese hatchback jumping to #6, while the Swedish Wagon was down to #8. A side effect of this change was the fact that the BEV Best Seller trophy changed hands, with the Nissan Leaf stealing it from its #7 Renault Zoe cousin.

Another significant change benefitted the VW e-Golf, with the VW model jumping four positions to #14, surpassing its PHEV cousin, the #16 Golf GTE.

Hyundai had a great month, with the Ioniq Electric scoring 78 units, its best result since March, while its PHEV sibling just joined the Top 20, at #19
.

A final mention to the Kia Niro EV, or e-Niro, that landed with 84 units, a good start that could indicate a successful career for the Korean Crossover in 2019. Hyundai-Kia is rising...

In the manufacturers ranking, Volkswagen (19%, down 1%) lost the leadership to Kia (20%, up 1%) a first for the Korean, while Volvo (16%, down 1%) is sliding down, due to the heavy reliance on short range PHEVs. 


14 comments:

  1. Maarten VinkhuyzenDecember 05, 2018

    Impressive, nearly the same number as in the Netherlands in a much smaller market. And without the push of a looming tax change.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And the Leaf delivered 657 units...

      December will be an historic month, for sure!

      Delete
  2. Are taxes the reason for PHEVs being so popular?

    And is there any way of finding out at what percentage of the time PHEVs are driven in electric mode in Sweden?

    As always great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Company cars. And also, the Outlander has towing ability. Come to think of it, this market has a lot in common with the Netherlands, although AWD is more important here than in Dutch lands.

      As for PHEV plugin habits, i have the suspition it is the same pattern of the Netherlands.

      Delete
    2. Sweden has traditionally bigger car than other parts of Europe. The Passat, Volvo V70, Kia Optima etc. These sizes aren't available in pure EV.

      I think they PHEVs are used on electricity quite a lot, there's a lot of money to be saved.

      Delete
    3. Interesting, i hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the input!

      Delete
  3. Jose, how big is BEVs % in EVs?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1/3 BEV, 2/3 PHEV, but things are changing fast, so we might see BEVs overcome PHEVs next year.

      Delete
    2. Thank you!

      Yes, we will see it)

      Delete
  4. Leaf deliveries has really ramped up lately. It seems all Nissan dealers are doing these days are selling EVs.

    These numbers are Nissans new car deliveries in Sweden during the last three months. More Leaf registrations than all ICE-models combined.

    Leaf 796
    Qashqai 430
    X-Trail 62
    Juke 34
    Micra 28
    NV300 15
    NV200 12
    Total 1377

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. how many I-pace deliveries?

      Delete
    2. 17 units. Netherlands and Norway are gobbling up every i-Pace they can grab, so only expect significant deliveries elsewhere from January on.

      Delete
  5. In Sweden, something is starting to change. The significant increase in BEVs is likely to continue and Nissan Leaf big rise will follow in the coming months.

    ReplyDelete