Hyundai Kona EV Wins The Netherlands In Slow Month — EV Sales Report

After a memorable month of September, the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) markets in the Netherlands slowed down significantly, growing just 37% in September, with 2,776 registrations, translating into a PEV share of 8.1% in October. That keeps the 2019 PEV share at a record 10%.

This underwhelming result was unexpected, as September and the fiscal changes coming on January 1st foreshadowed a strong Q4, but October hasn’t brought another delivery flood.

Looking at the possible reasons, first, Tesla delivered everything it could in September, depleting its stock, which should only be replenished again in November. Second, most legacy OEMs are holding off on BEV deliveries till 2020, when the 95g CO2/km fleet target starts.

Proof of this is the fact that, while BEVs grew 33% last month, way below their 127% annual rate, PHEVs jumped 68%.

This time around, the Tesla Model 3 had to settle with 2nd place, with 298 units registered. The October Best Seller trophy went to the Hyundai Kona EV, with 469 units.

Looking at the remaining players, the Nissan Leaf was 3rd, with 286 units, in 4th we have the Kia Niro EV, and in 5th we have the BMW i3 and Audi e-tron tied. The e-tron hit a record 191 registrations, so it seems Audi is one of the few legacy OEMs that will be available to respond to the expected year-end rush.

Looking at the 2019 ranking, everything looks stable in the top half, with the #5 Nissan Leaf looking to catch the #4 VW e-Golf while the #10 Audi e-tron is looking to climb a couple more positions until year end.

The only changes happened in the lower half of the top 20, with the BMW 530e jumping three positions, to #15, thanks to a record 55 units delivered, while the Jaguar I-PACE also shined, thanks to 54 units, its best result this year, which allowed it to jump to #16. So, it seems Jaguar is also ready to bank on the sales rush in the last two months of the year.

Outside the top 20, a mention is due for the new BMW 330e, which registered 89 units, the nameplate’s best result in almost 3 years. We should soon see the German midsizer in the top 20 ranking.

In the manufacturer ranking, Tesla (40%, down 2 percentage points) is the clear leader, followed by Hyundai (14%, up 1 percentage point), while the other Korean, Kia, is in the last place of the podium (9%, up 1 percentage point), ahead of Volkswagen (7%), BMW (7%), and Nissan (6%).