The German plug-in electric passenger car market was down 12% in September, to 4,626 registrations, with PHEVs stumbling 24% year over year (YoY). This was no doubt due to the pre-WLTP summer sales rush. Nonetheless, fully electric cars (BEVs) kept on growing (+5%), allowing full electrics to sell at the same level as PHEVs.
There’s a small secret here on CleanTechnica: We ♥ Tesla. Tesla is pushing transportation into a clean, zero-emission, electric future more than any other company. Nonetheless, we also need leadership from large automakers that weren’t born electric. Globally, approximately 96 million passenger vehicles are sold a year. In the US alone, the figure is 17 million or more.
Last week was crazy — the Tesla SEC lawsuit settlement, Tesla’s massive quarterly sales record, our first monthly #Pravduh, and more. As a result, I never shared the most popular CleanTechnica stories of September. So, in case you are curious, here were the 20 stories in September that ruled the odd and quirky land of CleanTechnica (pageviews following titles).
When we think about BMW and electric vehicles, the i3 is likely the first thing that comes to mind for most people. But the i3 isn’t even the German automaker’s top seller when put up against 5 other plug-in vehicles in the US, all plug-in hybrids.
The European passenger plug-in market grew slightly above average last month (42% in August vs 41% year to date). The continent registered some 30,000 plug-in cars, pulling the year-to-date (YTD) count to some 242,000 deliveries and pushing the 2018 market share to 2.3%. For the month of August, the market share was 2.7%.
The German plug-in vehicle (PEV) passenger car market grew 23% in August, to 5,888 registrations, with BEVs growing slower (+13%) than 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%.
In the coming months, with some timing and volume variations by region, you will be able to choose from many affordable, generous range, compelling, and all-around-capable EVs that are coming on to the market. Whilst the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range is arguably the most keenly anticipated of the bunch, all of these EVs are great cars, much better than any fossil fuel vehicle (FFV) equivalent.
The European passenger plug-in market slowed down a bit to enjoy the holiday season, registering some 27,000 registrations in July. That’s an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year. It pulled the year-to-date count to some 212,000 deliveries (+41% YoY), while the 2018 EV market share remained stable at 2.2%, which, incidentally, was the same market share registered in July.
The Netherlands had 1,362 plug-in car registrations in July, up 208% compared to the same month last year. Those 1,362 pulled the year-to-date count to 10,444 units (+139%). That meant that last month’s EV market share of all car sales reached 3.8%, and the 2018 EV market share figure held steady at 3.6%.
After 10 days with a used Nissan LEAF, I am pleased to say the car has exceeded my expectations in every way. I am now firmly committed to the electric car lifestyle.
