Germany March 2018

Big in Germany

Record month

The PEV Fever has definitely caught on in Germany, with March signaling a record month, with over 6,700 registrations, a 52% increase YoY, with the PEV Share at 2%.

But more important than the Plug-in niche, are the seismic changes happening in the fuels mix of the mainstream market: Diesel sales continue to sink (-25%!) YoY, to the benefit of all other fuels, regular gasoline-powered cars are up 9%, while alternative fuels are jumping upwards, with the highlights being CNG (+519%, to 1,046 units), but PHEVs (+32%) and BEVs (+73%) are also increasing significantly, leaving diesel with a market share of only 31%, less than half of what regular gasoline cars have (64%). At this pace, Diesel sales will be dead in das diesel Vaterland by 2021-22...Would someone imagine this four years ago?

Back at Plug-in sales, the Best Selling model in March was the VW e-Golf (510 units), stealing the Best Seller status from the Smart Fortwo ED (Only Fifth, with 454 deliveries), followed closely by the Renault Zoe (523 units, best performance since June), with the Third Placed BMW i3 scoring 459 units, and the #4 Smart Forfour ED, 457 deliveries, a new record for the 4-seater and the first time it outsold its 2-seater sibling. 

So, a Top 5 BEV. And (some) people still don't believe in fully electric cars...

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Volkswagen e-Golf	534
2	Renault Zoe	523
3	BMW i3	459
4	Smart Forfour ED	457
5	Smart Fortwo ED	454

In a traditionally fragmented market, the leader Smart Fortwo ED lost precious ground to its followers, but without immediate podium changes. 

The most relevant changes were the Kia Soul EV climbing two positions to Fifth Place, while the Smart Forfour ED jumped three positions to Sixth, thus making a full BEV Top 6.

The Best Selling PHEV title also changed hands, with the BMW 225xe Act. Tourer (404 deliveries best result in six months) beating the VW PHEVs and stealing the ceptre.

Close to the Top 10 is the hot-selling Porsche Panamera PHEV, rising once again, this time to #11, confirming that buyers enjoy "Electricity" and "Porsche" in the same sentence...

The Mercedes E350e had once again a record performance in March, with 258 registrations, jumping three positions to #12, while the new Leaf landed with 346 units, the nameplate's best result in three years, allowing it to jump to #18. 

"What about Tesla?" - You might ask.

Well, the Model S scored 304 deliveries last month, the nameplate's best result in a year, jumping into #13. As for the Model X, deliveries are markedly slower, having delivered only 124 units in March, still the nameplate best performance in 9 months.

In the manufacturers ranking, Volkswagen is in the lead, with 19% share (Down 1%), while last year winner BMW climbed to Second Place, with 16% share (Up 2%), supassin Smart (15%, down 1%).

Regarding the BEV/PHEV share, BEVs are now ahead of the race, let's hope this time it will be for good..

Source: kba.de

Plug-ins and Regular Hybrids

Pl	Model	March Sales
1	Toyota Yaris Hybrid	1,346
2	Toyota C-HR Hybrid	1,071
3	Toyota Auris Hybrid	909
4	Toyota RAV4 Hybrid	673
5	VW e-Golf	534

Unlike other markets, where regular hybrids are feeling the heat and being reached by PEVs, Toyota still owns the podium, with the only Plug-in presente being only Fifth, with less than half of the sales of the leader Yaris Hybrid.

Iceland March 2018

New Leaf lands

Sales grew moderately in Iceland (+31%) last month, with the PEV market share in March dropping to only 12%, nevertheless, this plug-in market is only the second market to register two digit PEV Shares regularly.

Looking at the models ranking, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV continues as strong as ever, having already registered another 48 units in March, followed in the 2018 ranking by two other SUVs: the Volvos XC90 PHEV, now Second, thanks to 31 deliveries last month, while the XC60 PHEV dropped to Third, making it a 100% SUV podium.

But a new model has arrived and is ready to shake things up, the new Nissan Leaf delivered 25 units in last month (#3 in March) and is said to have a hundreds-long waiting list, so expect it to surpass the current best selling BEV (VW e-Golf) soon (April?), then aim for a podium position (May?), and maybe even have a shot at outselling the allmighty Outlander PHEV.

In the brands ranking, Mitsubishi (33, down 5%) is  in the leadership, now followed by the new #2 (Volvo, 18%, up 3%), that has surpassed Volkswagen (17%, up 1%) in the runner-up spot, thanks to the success of their Plug-in SUVs.

France March 2018

Record Month 

The French PEV passenger car market registered a record 5.402 registrations, up 41% YoY, this time with both technologies (BEVs +40%, PHEVs +45%) pulling the market up to 10,892 units in 2018, up 17% YoY.

This record month allowed the 2018 PEV share to jump to 2%, already above last year result.

Looking at March Best Sellers, the Zoe (#24 in the mainstream market) has scored its best result ever since it landed in 2012, with the Renault BEV scoring 2,245 deliveries, with the runner-up Nissan Leaf also scoring a personal best, with 719 deliveries. 

Underlining the March Madness this market had, the Third Placed BMW i3 also scored a record result, with 319 deliveries, and not to fall behind, the #4 Tesla Model S also had a best ever result (162 units).

In short, all the top four sellers in March had record numbers. Not bad, not bad at all...

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Renault Zoe	2,245
2	Nissan Leaf	719
3	BMW i3	319
4	Tesla Model S	162
5	Mercedes GLC350e	133

In a market known for its stability, there was a lot to talk about, below the Top 5, two new nameplates joined the Top 20 last month, with the Tesla Model S jumping all the way up to #11, while the Hyundai Ioniq Electric (127 units, new record) reached #15.

Other models on the rise were the Mini Countryman PHEV and the Smart Fortwo ED, climbing one position to #7 and #8, respectively, while the Peugeot electric siblings had a positive month, with the iOn registering 98 units (Year best), while the Partner Tepee EV had 110 deliveries, the nameplate's best result so far.

It seems the French automaker discovered they are missing out from the hottest segment on the market (Plug-ins, of course) and are throwing to the market whatever they have in the stable. Too bad what they have is a 600 9 year old badge-engineered mini car (iOn) and a van with windows (Partner Tepee EV), that could have it's own sales niche, if it wasn't hampered by a small 22.5kWh battery, in world where the direct competitors have 33 kWh (Renault Kangoo ZE), or even 40kWh (Nissan Evalia BEV).

A 22.5 kWh battery in a van sounds sooo 2011...  

Below the Top 20, there are a few notable mentions, the BMW 530e had a record result, with 56 units, while the Tesla Model X delivered 79 units, its second best result in France. 

In the brands ranking, Renault (37%, up 4%) continues in the driver seat, followed at a distance by BMW and Nissan (Both with 10%), while Mercedes and Volvo, both with 5% share, are far from the podium positions. 

Source: Avere France

Netherlands March 2018

If the new Leaf is making waves in the Dutch market, imagine what the Model 3 could do...

Tesla and Leaf shake the market

March had 1,834 registrations, up 123% regarding the same period last year, with last month registering 4,3% PEV share, thus helping the 2018 share to climb until the 3,3%. 

The Tesla Model S was once again the Monthy Best Seller, thanks to 588 registrations, allowing it to beat its own record of 576 deliveries, that dated back from December 2013...

Its younger sibling, the Tesla Model X, also reached record heights, with 283 deliveries, that nevertheless weren't enough to make a 1-2 for Tesla last month, because the new Nissan Leaf scored 299 units in its full sales month, a new record for the Japanese nameplate.

Pl	Model	Sales
1	Tesla Model S	588
2	Nissan Leaf	299
3	Tesla Model X	283
4	VW e-Golf	147
5	Hyundai Ioniq Electric	101

Looking at the yearly ranking, the Tesla Model S jumped three positions, into the leadership, while its Model X sibling jumped five places, to #5, behind the Nissan Leaf, that climbed to Fourth. Expect the Japanese hatchback to climb even higher, possibly even threatening the Second Placed VW e-Golf.

Looking elsewhere, the Porsche Panamera PHEV is now the Best Selling PHEV, in #9, thanks to 35 registrations last month, while the Smart Forfour ED joined the Top 20, in #16.

In the manufacturers ranking, Tesla (26%) is the new leader, having trailed the previous leader Volkswagen (18%, down 6%), while in Third Place we have Hyundai (12%, down 4%), now followed by the rising Nissan (10%, up 4%), set to reach the podium already in April.

Source: RAI Vereniging

Regular Hybrids + Plug-ins Ranking

Pl	Model	March Sales
1	Toyota Yaris Hybrid	665
2	Tesla Model S	588
3	Toyota C-HR Hybrid	541
4	Kia Niro HEV	426
5	Toyota Auris Hybrid	315

If we add regular hybrids to plug-ins, the Toyota Yaris returned to the leadership, with 665 units, followed by the Tesla Model S, with three other HEVs (Two Toyota and one Kia) filling the remaining positions.

Tesla Model S & Others

Pl	Model	March Sales
1	BMW 5-Series	591
2	Tesla Model S	588
3	Mercedes E-Class	173
4	Volvo S/V90	126
5	Audi A6	92

Looking at the March registrations data, the Tesla Model S managed to almost steal the First Place from the BMW 5-Series, ending in Second Place, with the remaining competition ending far behind. 

Better Luck next time (June)?

Tesla Model X & Others

Pl	Model	March Sales
1	Tesla Model X	283
2	Volvo XC90	75
3	LR Range Rover Sport	41
4	Jaguar F-Pace	38
5	BMW X5	36

Big SUV's had a big hit with the end of PHEV incentives, and only the Volvo XC90 manages to have significant sales, but once the Tesla Model X deliveries are in full swing, like it was the case of last March, a last-month-of-quarter peak, there's really no competition for the American Sports-Minivan-CUV.

A mention for the Third place of the LR Range Rover Sport, a positive result that could be reinforced in the future, once the PHEV version deliveries arrive.