Tesla Model S, Nissan LEAF, & Toyota Prius Prime Run For #1 (Global Plug-In Sales Up 46% In H1 2017)
Global plug-in electric vehicle sales were up 46% year-on-year during the first half of 2017 (as compared to the first half of 2016), according to the most recent figures from our friends over at EV Volumes.
Altogether, more than 649,000 plug-in electric vehicles (all-electrics/EVs + plug-in hybrids/PHEVs) were sold globally during the first 6 months of 2017. These sales figures relate to light-duty trucks sold in the USA/Canada and light-duty commercial vehicles sold in Europe as well as passenger cars/vehicles.
Preliminary sales figures for August 2017 show an impressive 61% year-on-year increase (over August 2016) — with a total of 102,300 units reportedly sold (67% EVs and 33% PHEVs).
Much of the growth in recent times (as one can see in the charts on this page) has been in the Chinese market (now the largest auto market in the world). Though, growth in the US, Europe, and Japan was notable as well.
EV Volumes provides more: “The Toyota Prius Prime PHEV became an instant best-seller in Japan and pulled that market up. While August is seen as a slow-selling month in some large Europe markets, surging sales in other markets, like China, Canada, or South Korea, propelled sales to near record levels, with the 102,300 units recorded in August being only 500 units below the all-time record, set last December.”
As Tesla Model 3 production ramps up in the US — and also following the launch of the new longer-range Nissan LEAF — sales there are expected to rise rapidly, which should boost global sales figures pretty substantially.
Continuing: “Plug-in volumes have more than tripled since 2013 and continuing on last years growth rate of 42% would mean 8 out of 10 cars sold in 2030 would be Plug-ins. Inconceivable today, but not impossible to happen. The world picture shows that the global market crossed the 1% market share this year, but in some markets it is already far above that: Norway had 35% plug-in share in Q2, Iceland 9% and Sweden around 4.5%.”
Accompanying this growth, electric vehicle charging infrastructure has been proliferating — with the number of public charging stations apparently doubling over the last 2 years.
Also noteworthy is that the number of plug-in models available for sale globally has increased from 70 to 130 since 2013 — meaning that there are far more options out there (potentially suited to a wider variety of needs and uses) than there were just a few years ago.
Here’s a bit more information on the sales breakdown by country: “With the subsidy constraints now a thing of the past, China is back at the global driver seat: It has increased sales by 44% YoY, adding some 56,000 units to last year result of 128,000 units. The USA (+38%) and Europe (+32%) have also grown significantly in H1, with the remaining markets going even faster, with Japan (+89%), South Korea and Canada leading the way.
“Japan owes its return to growth to the start of the Prius Prime, and with the imminent introduction of the new Nissan Leaf, sales can only go higher. Europe increased 32% in H1, with Germany speeding up EV adoption, up 119% YoY, while smaller markets are doing even better, like Iceland (+197%), Luxembourg (+255%) or Slovakia (+800%).”
Growth in the North American market (+38%), meanwhile, was mostly driven by the launch of a number of new models (Toyota Prius Prime, Chevy Bolt, etc.) and the increasing existence of incentives in some regions.
As noted above, the mass production of the Tesla Model 3 and the introduction of longer-range variants of a number of other models should spark rapid growth in the North American market over the next year or two.
For the full report from EV Volumes, click this link.
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