The European passenger plug-in market scored 31,500 registrations in April, down 16% year over year (YoY), which is nevertheless a great performance considering the effect that the several lockdowns across the continent made and the overall market crashing (-78% YoY). That combo inflated last month’s plug-in share to an amazing 11% share.
While the overall French market ground to a halt due to the coronavirus lockdown (-89% year over year), plugins were down just 66%, with fully electric vehicles (BEVs) faring slightly better, down only -62%. That allowed BEVs to have 74% of the plugin market last month, slightly better than this year’s average of 73%.
Passenger auto sales in France fell by 88.8% year on year in April. Though, the second half of the month did show signs of recovery. Plug-in electric vehicles took 7.8% market share, with favorite models being the Renault Zoe, Peugeot e-208, and Tesla Model 3.
With the overall French market crumbling (-72% year over year!) due to the coronavirus lockdown, and the country returning to registrations levels (62,668 units) not seen in the past 50 years, one would think that plug-ins would suffer too, right? The answer to that is “yes” and “no.”
In Belgium in March, auto sales were down a whopping 48%, but plug-in vehicle sales were up 39%! In the first quarter of the year, plug-in vehicle sales were up 91%. No rounding error.
France saw a remarkable 11.7% market share for plug-in electric vehicles in March, exceeding January’s breakout result, and bringing the Q1 2020 tally to 9.7%. This is almost 4× growth in market share compared to Q1 2019 (2.6%).
After the cancellation of the Geneva International Motor Show, as compensation for the missed opportunity to interact with the press, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Peugeot, held a conference call with a number of journalists. There were some discussions about the future electrification of the automotive industry. His comments on the subject were shocking for the ignorance they revealed.
The European Car of the Year is not the “Best Buy” advice of a consumer organization. It does not put a sticker on Product X in category Y in price class Z. It does not help customers to choose between the myriad offerings on the market by positioning something as the cheapest, coolest, easiest, safest, healthiest, or greenest product they can buy.
After January’s record performance, the French plug-in electric vehicle market continued on fire in February, seeing 13,317 registrations last month.
France, a market of over 2 million annual auto sales, saw plug-in passenger vehicle market share of 7.95% in February, following January’s record 11% share. Pure electrics (BEVs) took 5.6% of the market, and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) 2.3%. The year-to-date EV market share stands at 9.3%.
