BMW & Porsche Shine In Germany — German Electric Car Sales Report
The German plug-in vehicle (PEV) passenger car market grew 23% in August, to 5,888 registrations, with fully electric cars (BEVs) growing slower (+13%) than plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) (+31%). In 2018, fully electrics saw their share drop slightly to 0.9% share, while plug-in hybrids remained stable at 1%, making the total PEV share now 1.9%.
Looking at August best sellers, BMW had another good month, putting two models in the podium. The 225xe Active Tourer stayed on top, with 707 deliveries, its third record performance in a row. Who said family-friendly MPVs weren’t hip anymore?
The Renault Zoe was second, thanks to 421 deliveries, while the BMW i3 was third, with 412 registrations.
But the surprise of the month regarded the new Porsche Cayenne PHEV. With 298 deliveries (a new personal best), it was #8 last month, becoming the best selling luxury PEV on the market. The second best in the class was the Porsche Panamera PHEV, with 258 deliveries (also a new personal best). Porsche is on a roll and this bodes well for the success of the upcoming Taycan BEV, so if I were Porsche, I would start thinking right away about scaling up the Taycan production — that is, if they want to avoid a Herstellung Hölle.
| EV Model | Sales | |
| 1 | BMW 225xe A. Tourer | 707 |
| 2 | Renault Zoe | 421 |
| 3 | BMW i3 | 412 |
| 4 | Kia Soul EV | 339 |
| 5 | Smart Fortwo ED | 334 |
Over the years, the German PEV market has become known for its constant changes, but August took a break from that, with not a lot of changes in the top 20. The main news was the BMW i3 climbing to second place, surpassing the VW e-Golf, which with 268 units had its worst performance in over a year.
The BMW 225xe is now ready to surpass the #5 Kia Soul EV, and if it continues at this pace, the MPV might even have a shot at getting to third place by year end.
Other changes were the #7 VW Passat GTE surpassing the Golf GTE stablemate, thanks to a record 328 units, while the Hyundai Ioniq Electric jumped two positions, to #17, thanks to 138 registrations, its best result in the last 7 months.
There is a new model in the top 20, with the Mini Countryman PHEV showing up in #19, but below this ranking, there is a rising star getting ready to join the best sellers. The Porsche Cayenne PHEV is just 222 units away from joining the top 20, so we can celebrate its arrival by September, or October at the latest.
Porsche seems to have solved its battery constraints, to the profit of the #12 Panamera PHEV, with the sports sedan having its best result ever, with 258 deliveries (52% of all the nameplate sales). It won’t be long until the Panamera PHEV surpasses the Mercedes E350e, thus becoming the best selling luxury plugin in Germany.
In the brands ranking, BMW (18%, up 1%) confirmed its leadership, safely ahead of Volkswagen (16%). The #3 Smart (11%) has the fourth placed Kia (9%, down 1%) now further behind as well.
| EV Model | August | YTD | EV Market Share YTD | |
| 1 | Renault Zoe | 421 | 3,432 | 8% |
| 2 | BMW i3 | 412 | 3,283 | 7% |
| 3 | VW e-Golf | 268 | 3,140 | 7% |
| 4 | Smart Fortwo ED | 334 | 3,054 | 7% |
| 5 | Kia Soul EV | 339 | 2,786 | 6% |
| 6 | BMW 225xe Active Tourer | 707 | 2,772 | 6% |
| 7 | VW Passat GTE | 328 | 2,024 | 4% |
| 8 | VW Golf GTE | 179 | 1,920 | 4% |
| 9 | Smart Forfour ED | 169 | 1,854 | 4% |
| 10 | Mercedes E350e | 67 | 1,586 | 3% |
| 11 | Audi A3 e-Tron | 331 | 1,581 | 3% |
| 12 | Porsche Panamera PHEV | 258 | 1,395 | 3% |
| 13 | Nissan Leaf | 177 | 1,228 | 3% |
| 14 | Kia Niro PHEV | 130 | 1,166 | 3% |
| 15 | Mercedes GLC350e | 171 | 1,152 | 3% |
| 16 | Tesla Model S | 47 | 954 | 2% |
| 17 | Hyundai Ioniq Electric | 138 | 922 | 2% |
| 18 | BMW 530e | 71 | 885 | 2% |
| 19 | Mini Countryman PHEV | 140 | 879 | 2% |
| 20 | Mercedes C350e | 70 | 871 | 2% |
| Others | 1,131 | 8,538 | 19% | |
| TOTAL | 5,888 | 45,422 | 100% |
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