Tesla Model 3 Remains In Top 10 Autos In June As UK EV Market Share Hits 9.5%

The UK, Europe’s third largest auto market, saw plug-in electric vehicle market share hit 9.5% in June 2020, up from 2.1% in June 2019. Accumulated EV market share for H1 2020 now stands at 7.7%. The ever popular Tesla Model 3 was the 9th best selling passenger vehicle in June.

The overall auto market recovered significantly in June and is now down “just” 34.9% over June 2019. Compare this to April and May, which saw dramatic 97% and 89% drops in auto sales.

The overall plug-in electric vehicle share of 9.5% consisted mainly of full battery electrics (BEVs), which took 6.1% of the total market (8,903 sales), whilst plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) took 3.4% share (4,926 sales).

The Tesla Model 3 yet again joined the monthly best sellers list, this time at the #9 spot:

June 2020 UK Best Sellers / Image courtesy UK SMMT

Note that all other members of the top 10 are in much lower price brackets than the Tesla Model 3. The nearest priced is the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, which starts from under £24,000. The Model 3 starts from just over £40,000.

The Model 3 — alone taking almost 20% of the UK EV market — very nearly made the top 10 bestseller list of all UK vehicle models in the first half of 2020, only missing 10th place by around 5% in sales volume (~9,600 vs. 10,100 by my back-of-napkin estimation).

Plug-in EVs as a whole took over 7.7% UK market share in the first half of the year, up from 2.1% in the same period last year.

UK auto industry body the SMMT noted that continued lockdown of most auto showrooms in Scotland and Wales, and 20% of showrooms in England, weighed on the UK’s overall auto market volume. Taken together, these continued lockdowns go much of the way towards accounting for the 34.9% drop in monthly auto sales compared to the June 2019 figure.

With ever more compelling and affordable EVs coming onto the market — if available  volumes can keep up with demand — the UK should see full year 2020 EV market share in the 8% to 10% range, similar to the trajectory of Germany, and slightly behind that of France.

Article images courtesy of SMMT and Tesla.