One of the most persistent incorrect assumptions about electric vehicles is that they’re less convenient than gasmobiles. Actually, as long as you buy a decent modern electric car, “fueling up” will be more convenient in many — if not most — cases. As usual, your own personal details matter. There is no single answer for everyone, but there are a handful of truisms that are the building blocks of each personal story.
South Korea is an interesting case in “Electric Vehicle World.” LG Chem, probably the most notable EV battery company not connected to Tesla, is based there. It seems like LG Chem has battery contracts with every single automaker (it might be more like 60%). SK Innovation and Samsung SDI, medium-sized battery producers, also call Korea home. And then there are Hyundai and Kia, or Hyundai–Kia if you combine them due to their intertwined investment structure. These large automakers have produced highly acclaimed electric vehicles, but they struggle to produce a large number of them — or just don’t care to do so.
Tesla, Tesla, Tesla — we know all about Tesla’s EV leadership. But who’s going to put the nail in the coffin of automotive laggards? Could it be Volkswagen?
Led by the Tesla Model 3, the Dutch plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market grew 73% in July, with 2,372 plug-in registrations, which translated into a PEV share of 7%. For January through July, PEV share was at 8.6%, well above the 6% of 2018.
I prefer comparing the Tesla Model 3 to its gasoline competitors, but it’s also logical to compare the Model 3 to other electric vehicles. In the old days, these were simply called EV sales reports, but the US electric vehicle market is so unbalanced at the moment that it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room — there’s the Model 3, and there’s everything else.
The European passenger plug-in vehicle (PEV) market logged some 47,000 registrations in June (+24% year over year), with the PEV market growing 34% in 2019 so far. That’s a great performance considering the stagnating performance (-3%) of the overall auto market.
The German plug-in vehicle (PEV) market continued on the right track in June, having registered 8,631 units. Fully electric vehicles (BEVs) were up strong, +117% year over year (YoY), compensating for the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drop of –9%, and all-electrics now represent two-thirds of plug-in registrations. The PEV share of the overall auto market was 2.7% in May, with BEVs alone hitting 1.8%. That pushed the 2019 plug-in share slightly up, to 2.6% (1.7% BEV).
The California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project provides a rebate of up to $7,000 when a California resident who is eligible for the program buys or leases a new all-electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel-cell electric vehicle.
The French passenger electric vehicle market scored 5,847 registrations in June, up 25% year over year (YoY). That plug-in double-digit growth is even more significant when we realize that the overall market remained stagnant (-2%). This result placed the 2019 plug-in vehicle (EV) share at 2.5%, with fully electric vehicles (BEVs) alone having 1.9% share.
The Dutch plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market had another great month in June, with 4,543 plug-in registrations, up 196% year over year (YoY). That translated into a PEV share of 11%. The year-to-date (YTD) count reached 20,047 units, which means a market share of 8.9%, well above the 6% of 2019.
