French EV Market Share Hit 1.16% In 2015, With 2016 Sales Rising Fast
Originally published on EV Obsession.
The share of the total French automotive market — cars and light-commercial vehicles — held by electric vehicles in 2015 was around 1.16%, according to the most recent figures from EV-Volumes.
Year-on-year growth for the French electric vehicle market — both all electrics (EVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) — was thus right around 68%, a substantial increase. Altogether around 26,550 plug-in vehicles were sold in France in 2015. The large growth in sales during 2015 puts France in eighth place out of the 40 markets tracked by EV-Volumes — as far as the share of the total automotive market held by electric vehicles.
The European market as a whole actually saw higher year-on-year growth (~99%), but most of the growth was clustered in just a few markets. Considering that growth in France during 2014 was only around 10%, and growth during 2013 was only around 25% though, the growth during 2015 was notable — representing a shift-change for the country.
Partly this was no doubt due to the introduction of higher electric vehicle purchase incentives in heavily polluted regions, and partly it was due to increasingly attractive options as far as electric vehicles go.
It should be noted here that the French automotive market as a whole (gas and diesel vehicles included) grew around 6% in 2015 as well.
EV-Volumes some more:
January and February 2016 showed no signs of slowdown, plug-in volumes and shares are 90% higher year-on-year, promising another good year for plug-in sales in France.
…More than in other markets, the BEV share held up well against the spree of new plug-in hybrids introduced in 2015. The share of pure EVs (was) still nearly 80%; lower than 2014, but still among the world’s highest. Incentives from the French “Bonus-Malus” taxation regime favor vehicles with up to 20g CO2/km, which receive up to €6300 tax return. Vehicles from 21g to 60g (most plug-in hybrids) receive up to €4000. Also the aforementioned Super-bonus for low-carbon vehicles is higher for BEVs: €3700 vs €2500 for plug-in hybrids. We expect the 80-20 split of BEV to PHEV to be maintained during 2016.
Electric vehicle sales in France during 2015 were dominated by the Renault Zoe, which took a 49% share of the electric market there during the year. Other countries that saw (relatively) strong Renault Zoe sales during 2015 were Norway, the UK, and Germany.
Image Credits: EV-Volumes
Reprinted with permission.
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