I’ve been reporting monthly US electric car sales for years. My monthly report has often been one of the most popular stories of the month here on CleanTechnica. However, unless something changes, I’ve concluded it’s time to stop — or to take a break — from these US EV sales reports. There are 4 core reasons why.
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 German plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market grew 31% in July, to 5,617 registrations, with BEVs growing faster (+39%) than PHEVs (+28%). In 2018, fully electric cars are now reaching 1% market share on their own and so are plug-in hybrids, resulting in a total PEV share of 2%.
The European passenger plug-in market continues pushing forward. In June, the continent registered some 38,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), up 37% relative to the same period last year and the continent’s second best performance ever. That showing pulled the year-to-date (YTD) count to some 185,000 deliveries (+43% year over year, or YoY). In total, the 2018 PEV market share of the overall car market there is up to 2.2% (2.4% in June).
The Chinese plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market lifted off the accelerator, with some 78,000 units registered in June, up only 77%. This slowdown from the three-digit growth rates of previous months is explained by the fact that, in June, “new energy” subsidies were slashed to vehicles with ranges lower to 150 km. That means most small “city EVs” stopped being sold, draining a significant percentage of sales.
Let’s get the biggest matter out of the way right off the bat: no one outside of Tesla really has a clue as to how many Model 3s were delivered in the US in each month of Q2. Yes, we have a Model 3 delivery total from Tesla for the quarter as a whole, but the company doesn’t break that down by month or region. For a while, the slowly growing ramp allowed us to estimate without too much difficulty, but a few things changed in May and June.
Tesla had more news, as usual. We also had a lot of fun talking about the Chinese and European EV markets. And then: The Batteries.
The Chinese PEV market is at full charge, with some 94,000 units registered in May, up 127% YoY and just 8,000 units less than the current record of 102,000 units set last December. If sales continue progressing this fast, expect a new all-time record in June.
The 20 hottest CleanTechnica stories of the past week as well as the 20 hottest CleanTechnica stories of June are below. Have a gander.
I am making an earnings per share (EPS) prediction only for the Tesla automotive segment, excluding leasing, since I think Wall Street is way too negative on Tesla.
