Denmark January 2019

Korean turf

Sales continue to grow fast in Denmark, with 424 units registered last month, placing the 2019 PEV share at 2% in the first month of the year, in line with last year result, while at the same time, BEVs have recovered significant ground (53% share, +21% regarding 2018), considering that PHEVs frankly outsold pure electrics (68% vs 32%) last year.

The Hyundai Kona EV started the year jumping to the leadership, with 129 deliveries, followed by last year winner Kia Niro PHEV (97 registrations), while the Nissan Leaf is Third, with 40 units.

Just outside the Podium, we have another Korean model, the Hyundai Ioniq PHEV, while the #6 Jaguar i-Pace had its best month in this market, with 20 units. 

Proof of the popularity that the Korean makers are experiencing in this market, is the fact that the #8 Kia Optima PHEV (12 units) is the fourth Korean model in the Top 10...

A sign of the changing times, while last year Volkswagen had their two PHEVs in the Top 10, this time the Best Selling VW is the all-electric e-Golf, with 11 deliveries.

 In the Manufacturers ranking, we are witnessing a Korean fest, with Hyundai being the Best Seller (40% share), and Kia in Second Place (26%), while the best non-Korean brand is Nissan (10%) in a distant Third Spot.

Japan January 2019

Nissan is eating Toyota's lunch

Some 4.700 units were registered last month in the Japanese PEV market, down 26% YoY, mostly due to the effect that the Nissan Leaf 62 kWh version is doing to the Toyota Prius PHEV, that with only 435 units, was down a staggering 68%(!) YoY, the Second Generation Prius worst result ever. Do i hear alarm sounds at Toyota HQ?

Another proof of the Prius PHEV fall into the abyss, is the fact that the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV managed to outsell it last month, despite seeing its sales also drop (-23% YoY).

The 2019 PEV share started at 1.2% share, and could increase to some 1.5-2% share this year, thanks to the 62 kWh version of the Leaf.

Another measure of how low Toyota is now, is the fact that BMW is now the #3 brand, with 10% share.

Iceland January 2019

26% PEV Share in January, mainstream market down 48%!!!

Sales grew moderately in 2019 in January, but because the mainstream market is falling off a cliff (-48% YoY), the PEV shares is jumping through the roof, with January hitting an amazing 26% PEV share, a significant departure from the 19% of last year. 

Will the PEV share hit 35% this year?

Considering the behavior of the other advanced EV market, Norway, is similar behavior, with moderate PEV growth and a sales drop in the mainstream auto market, we are starting to see a trend, that can be replicated in other markets, as once markets hit some 10% market share, plugin sales slow down to 20-30% growth rates, while at the same time, the mainstream market starts to shrink, as regular buyers come to realize that fossil fueled vehicles are becoming dinosaurs.

Looking at this year Best Sellers, the Nissan Leaf started ahead of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, but the real surprise was the Hyundai Kona EV (I have been writing this phrase a lot, in the last few weeks...), with the Korean jumping to the 3rd spot, thanks to 19 units, its best result to date. 

Two other small, long(ish) range BEVs are also climbing, with the Renault Zoe starting the year in #7, it was #13 last year, while the BMW i3 is profiting from the larger battery to finally appear on this ranking radar, in #8. 

Also interesting are both Range Rover models showing up in the Top 20, considering this is a SUV-loving market, this could be an interesting market for the British brand.

In the brands ranking, Nissan (23%) started in the lead, while last year winner Mitsubishi (22%) is a close Second, and the 3rd placed Volvo (13%) has the #4 Hyundai at a comfortable distance.

Germany January 2019

Audi E-Tron jumps to #4

The German PEV passenger car market was up 17% to 6,767 registrations, with a seismic change happening in the fuels mix, with BEVs jumping (+68% YoY), while PHEVs continue sinking (-26%), allowing full electrics to outsell plugin hybrids by a large margin (69% share for BEVs).

With a stagnating mainstream market (-1% YoY), the PEV Share climbed to 2.6% in January, with BEVs alone hitting 1.8%.

Looking at January Best Sellers, you can see the good moment of all-electric models, with 8 BEVs in the Top 10, and the Renault Zoe leading the way, with 799 units, closely followed by the VW e-Golf (746) and the BMW i3 (703), with the Bimmer hot hatch scoring its best monthly result ever in its 5 year career. I guess the formula larger battery = higher sales gets proven once again...

But the (not so) surprise of the month was the Audi e-Tron, starting the year in the 4th Spot, with 407 registrations, a great result, considering official customer deliveries are only set to start in February, so expect these numbers to grow in the near future. Will we see the Audi SUV in a podium position soon?

One thing is certain, 2019 will see another close race for the leadership, with the 2018 trophy winner, the Renault Zoe, having to defend its title from the BMW i3, Tesla Model 3 and Audi e-Tron (maybe), while Volkswagen could surprise us with higher than expected deliveries of the eGolf / ID duo.   

Below the top positions, the Hyundai Kona EV continues to ramp up deliveries, having registered a record 291 units, while the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was by far the best selling plugin hybrid, thanks to 360 units. 

Besides the Kona, the other Korean models also had a positive month, with 6(!) models in the Top 20, while the Volvo SUVs are also on the up in 2019, with the (relatively) smaller XC60 PHEV delivering a record 126 units, and the full-blown vessel XC90 PHEV registering 84 units, its best result in 2 years.

In the brands ranking, BMW (17%) is in the leadership, while Renault and Volkswagen are racing for the runner-up place, both with 12% share, comfortably ahead of the #4 Hyundai (9%).

Ireland January 2019

 

Hyundai is going after Nissan's crown in red hot market

January had 1.111 PEVs registered, by far the best in Ireland, with sales up 292%(!) YoY, and the 2019 PEV share starting at a record 3.4%.

Also significant is the fact that the mainstream market was down 13% YoY, is disruption already happening in this market?

After nearly stealing the 2017 title from the seven times Best Seller Nissan Leaf, Hyundai is at it again, and this time with a new model, the Hyundai Kona EV, that outsold the Japanese hatchback in January, with a new all-time record of 311 deliveries, being the first time in 11 months that someone has beaten the Nissan EV.

The Renault Zoe is a distant Third, with 77 registrations, while the #4 Kia Niro PHEV was the Best Selling PHEV, with 71 units.

Below the top spots, a few worthy mentions, the BMW i3 scored a record 42 deliveries in January, registering in only one month what it usually does in one year...once again, the "larger battery = higher sales" formula gets proven. 

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV did even better, as last month 44 sales represented not only the nameplate's best month ever, but has already beaten the best year ever for the Japanese SUV in Ireland (2015, with 40 units). Again, larger battery = higher sales... 

Looking at the manufacturers ranking, Hyundai started in the lead, with 33% share, followed by Nissan (27%), while BMW (9%) is Third, and Renault (7%) is Fourth, closelly followed by Kia (6%).

France January 2019

BEVs step up 

The French PEV passenger car market registered 4,210 registrations in January (+78% YoY), with all-electric models jumping 138%, the highest growth rate in over 2 years, while plug-in hybrids remained in positive ground (+14%).

This recent pick up pulled the 2019 PEV share to a record 2.7%, with BEVs alone having 2% share.

Looking at January Best Sellers, the Renault Zoe registrations uptick continues (+136% YoY!), with 1,496 units (#29 in the mainstream market), being the main reason for BEVs to shine, but it wasn't the only one, as the #3 Smart Fortwo ED tripled sales to 306 deliveries, while the #2 Nissan Leaf maintained its sustained growth, thanks to 341 units. 

But the real events were the Kia Niro EV (149 units) and the Hyundai Kona EV (147) performances, winning a Top 10 spot, while the presence of both Hyundai Ioniq's (#15 & #17) and the Kia Niro PHEV (#18), underline the current deliveries push that the Korean Group is doing in Europe.

In a market known for its stability, this time there are some interesting surprises, besides the Korean rise, Jaguar-Land Rover had a great month, placing all three plugins in the Top 20, with the Land Rover Range Rover Sport PHEV, along with winning the title of longest model name, earning the #11 spot, followed but its posher sibling Range Rover PHEV (#12), while the fully electric Jaguar i-Pace joined the ranking, in #20.

Both Volvo SUVs scored record results, with the midsize XC60 PHEV registering 214 units, while the fullsize barge XC90 PHEV delivered 195 units, with both running with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (214 units), for the Best Selling PHEV title.

In the brands ranking, Renault (36%) continues to lead the way, followed at a distance by the #2 Volvo (10%) and the #3 Nissan (9%), with the #4 Smart (8%) following closely. 

Norway January 2019

Leaf starts in the lead

PEV Sales were up a solid 27% in January, to 4.699 units, despite the PHEV slump (-17%), but thanks to the BEV brilliant performance (3.401 units, +60% YoY), things are looking good, leading to a large BEV (38%) and PEV (52%) shares, and this is still without the Tesla Model 3 volume deliveries, when it does land numbers will be even more outlandish, possibly even reaching 80% share!

In this context, seeing Norway get some 80% PEV share, with peak months possibly reaching 90%, should be possible, effectively meaning Game Over for ICE in this market.

The fuels mix now shows BEVs well above everyone else (38% share), followed by gasoline (19%) and diesel (17%), while PHEVs (14%) and HEVs (11%) are both down 17% YoY, as their sales are too are being absorbed by the BEV black hole effect.

Looking at the 2019 ranking, there aren't significant news on top, with the Nissan Leaf starting 2019 where it ended 2018, in the lead, but this time the VW e-Golf and BMW i3 are much closer, so the race for the runner-up spot should be interesting.

Interestingly, there are 7 BEVs in the Top 9 spots, which says a lot on where the market is going...

Elsewhere, the Korean nameplates started the year with a strong pace, with the Hyundai Ioniq Electric in #5, with 347 units, while its younger sibling Kona EV was #6, with a record 325 units, and even the runnout-mode Kia Soul EV was #12 in January, while the #18 Kia Niro PHEV made a quartet of Korean models on the Top 20.

Proof of the BEV mommentum is the Jaguar i-Pace reaching #14, thanks to 79 units, while another long range BEV, the Opel Ampera-e, returned to the Top 20, in #16, but the most surprising return was the VW e-Up!, that started the year in #13, thanks to 80 deliveries. What a price reduction can do to a model career…

In the manufacturers ranking, BMW started in the lead (18%), being closely followed by Volkswagen (17%), while the 2018 winner Nissan was down to Third, with 15% share, with a short 10 units lead over the #4 Hyundai.

Models breakdown by Fuel Source

The plug-in market continues to merge with the mainstream, breaking down sales by fuel source, we have three BEVs in the podium, followed a balanced mix of plugins, with 3 BEVs and 2 PHEVs, but the telling story is that the Best Selling HEV (Toyota C-HR) was only #8, with the remaining Top 10 hybrids (Toyota RAV4 and Yaris) ending behind it.

With regular ICE models (again) wiped out from the Top 10, and the Best Selling HEV only #8, will we see a 100% plug-in Top 10 soon? Let's say...March? 

We just need to add the Tesla models…