The French plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market recorded 6,136 registrations in March, up 14% year over year (YoY). A big portion of this growth came from the Tesla Model 3, which had 1,153 deliveries last month, the best result ever for a nameplate not called “Renault Zoe.”
In the first quarter of 2019, the Tesla Model 3 was again the #1 top selling car in the US luxury car market. It was far and away the winner. It was actually #13 in the overall US car market, and no other premium-class car even made the top 20.
Now that we’ve got a truly mass market electric car in the US (the 13th best selling car in the country in the first quarter of 2019 and the best selling luxury car), I’ve found it interesting to take a closer look at changes in all automakers’ overall car and automobile sales. I meticulously track changes from month to month and quarter to quarter using automaker sales reports for this purpose.
Tesla had the #1 top selling luxury car in the USA in the first quarter of 2019, but it didn’t win the title of top selling luxury car producer in the first quarter and also didn’t top the list of luxury automakers (cars + SUVs/CUVs/trucks). However, the Silicon Valley company did stay on the podium despite a 50% cut in the federal EV tax credit for Tesla buyers and despite the fact that most Tesla vehicles were shipped abroad (with the Model 3 making it overseas for the first time).
After the December delivery peak, the Dutch plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market had another sales surge last month, with 4,721 plug-in registrations, up 252% year over year (YoY). That translates into a PEV share of 12% in March, and pulls the year-to-date count to 10,424 units (+224%), with the 2019 PEV share now at 9%. If we only consider fully electric vehicles (BEVs), the EV share in March was 10% and in the first quarter was 7.4%.
The big news in February’s top positions was of course the Tesla Model 3 landing with a bang, and jumping right up to the leadership position, but unlike what has happened (and is happening) in the USA, the blackhole effect of the Tesla Model 3 is not absorbing sales from other BEVs (well, maybe the Model S is the exception). Instead, it appears the Model 3 is pulling customers directly from competing PHEVs and gas/diesel models.
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson says he expects profit margins of electric vehicles and conventional cars will reach parity in about 2025 as the cost of building EVs declines and the cost of manufacturing conventional cars increases.
In the month of February, these luxury auto companies and car divisions had the following sales drops:
Acura Cars: −12%
Audi: −12%
Audi Cars: −12%
BMW Cars: −12%
Infiniti: −17%
Infiniti: −46%
Lexus Cars: −2%
Mercedes-Benz: −13%
Mercedes-Benz Cars: −4%
Volvo Cars: −77%
The French plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) passenger car market had 4,178 registrations in February, up 32% year over year (YoY), with all-electric models growing faster than plug-in hybrids (+46% vs +16%). A big portion of this growth came from the landing of the Tesla Model 3, which had 401 deliveries last month, but even discounting the “Model 3 effect,” full-electrics grew 26%, a positive sign that the Model 3 isn’t stealing sales from other electric cars but from its gas/diesel competitors.
February had 2,457 plug-in vehicle (PEV) registrations in February, up 232% year over year (YoY), which translates into a PEV share of 8.2%. That pulls the year-to-date (YTD) count to 5,713 units (+213%) and a 7.4% market share. Within the PEV market, fully electric vehicles (BEVs) represented 80% of registrations, or 5.9% of overall market share.
