The Dutch plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market is back at year-end-rush mode, doubling sales in November to 7,205 registrations. That translates into a PEV share of 18% in November, and pulls the 2019 PEV share to a record 11%.
Tracking monthly US auto sales by company or brand is one of the oddest-feeling things I’ve done in my decade or so covering cleantech. Perhaps that’s because the focus is on tracking non-clean tech. The fact is, though, it shocks me every month to see how many people still buy gasoline cars. Gasoline cars are far worse than electric cars currently on the market for the same cost (or even less). Nonetheless, there are so many people buying clunky, noisy, slow, high-maintenance, low-tech, high-depreciation gasoline vehicles every single day. Objectively, it doesn’t make sense.
The South Korean electric vehicle market doesn’t get the most attention, but it is bubbling up, with 2% of passenger vehicle sales in the country now EV sales. Similar to the USA, though, the market is dominated by just a few models.
Tesla accounts for 1 out of every 6¼ global plug-in vehicle sales. The Tesla Model 3 alone accounts for 1 out of every 8 global plug-in vehicle sales, 13% of the global market.
The European passenger plug-in vehicle (PEV) market recorded some 48,000 registrations in October (+46%), and this time it was the plug-in hybrids (+75% growth year over year, or YoY) that pulled the PEV market up. Fully electric vehicles (BEVs) remained at cruising speed (+26%), leading to a nearly even (51% BEVs / 49% PHEVs, vs. 65% / 35% YTD) breakdown between both technologies in October.
Hyundai UK commissioned a study about people’s attitudes toward electric car. The biggest reason people don’t buy electric cars is still range anxiety.
I was hesitant while writing a recent CleanTechnica post, “Say What? $79–$178 Monthly Lease For An Electric Car?” Sure enough, another take on that article emerged in the comments underneath. The offer was too good to be true for many. We extend a genuine thank you to all who helped bring more information and context to the story.
Back in 2015, when we shopped EVs and then leased a Nissan Leaf, we were the primary EV educators up to the point of sale, not the salespeople. Even during the test drive, we had more knowledge. Our grasp on the function and reality of electric cars seemed to overwhelm the salesperson. We passionately emphasized why we wanted an electric car. Our sales person remained less than enthusiastic.
Let’s try to decipher this one. It’s not been that long since I leased an EV. This kind of deal was not around; or not anywhere that I heard of a few years back. Perhaps location makes a significant difference, or are EVs really coming down to a level accessible to those on a small budget?
Like nearly every other mainstream concept these days, the Hyundai Vision T features a high degree of electrification. In this case, the car is built around a plug-in hybrid powertrain that, according to the press release, “indicat(es) its eco-lifestyle focus and inherent balance with the environment in which it is driven.”
