Monthly archives: January 2019

New on the Market – BMW 745e and 745Le xDrive (facelift)

This entry was posted in News on by

The new BMW 7-series has just be presented to the public during the Detroit Motor show and is going to be launched in April in Ireland. It is a very extensive and quite bold facelift, including interesting powertrains developments.

The PHEV version is offered in 2 variants, a short wheelbase rear wheel drive, the 745e and the long wheelbase all wheel drive 745Le xDrive. Importantly these are getting a straight six in replacement of the four cylinder of the previous 740e. This means obviously better performance, with an impressive gain of 72hp to a total of 394hp (that’s 286hp for the petrol engine and 113hp for the electric motor). It will go from 0 to 100kph in 5.2 (745e) and 5.1 seconds (745Le xDrive).

The range is as for many other PHEVs somewhat limited, 50 to 58 km witch translates usually into 30 to 40 km of real life driving, depending on the season. It is an improvement over the original 740e thanks to a new 12kWh pack (precedently 9,2kWh).

 

Price wise, these PHEV variants are never cheap compared to your mid-size hatchback, but in comparison with the petrol and diesel variants of the 7-series, quite attractive !

The 745e is €7,400 cheaper than the 740i, despite 54 extra horsepower.

The 745Le xDrive is €8,820 cheaper than the 740Ld sDrive, also behind in terms of power (-74hp) and performance.

———

BMW 745e : €100,510

BMW 745Le xDrive €109,410

 

Ireland scores average within EU in Lease Plan’s EV readiness index 2019

This entry was posted in News on by

Lease Plan’s EV readiness report is a yearly analysis made to see where 22 main European markets are at, with regards to EV adoption, gauging purchase incentives, vehicle sales, charging infrastructure, tax benefits, etc. All countries are showing progress, Ireland is in the middle of the pack, in 11th position.

A deep dive into the report shows that Ireland is scoring well in terms of government incentives, unfortunately not followed by equally strong vehicle sales (are we a conservative country?). Unsurprisingly our charging network is not a strong asset either.

Source: Lease Plan

Download the full pdf report here.

 

Best selling Irish BEV commercial vans for 2018 (new sales)

This entry was posted in News Sales on by

There is a category of EVs that we usually don’t still see covered because volumes are small, and these aren’t really anyone’s dream cars but deserves attention by the community : light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The market is very small (0.33% of the total market, that is at 99% diesel) and the number of available models, even smaller.

The Kangoo ZE was a top player in this category last year, not only in Ireland but in Europe. From 0 (!) sales last year, it is now leading the segment with 41 registrations for 2018. Note that it means that 5% of Kangoos are Electric, the rest being diesel (on a total of 799 Kangoo sold last year).

Renault Kangoo Express Z.E.

It became somewhat more popular since the 33kWh battery (264km NEDC, 200km real life) replaced the 24kWh one (that it is no longer leased). The higher price (compared to a diesel variant) and lack of fast charging capability isn’t stopping fleet managers (last kilometre deliveries, postal services) who make rational choices and show that EVs do make a lot of sense in such application, even without fast charging.

The Citroën Berlingo Electric has been recently imported, and balances its small battery (24kWh) and even smaller range (170km NEDC) by a fast charging option (50kW Chademo socket). Note that the new Berlingo doesn’t exist just yet with an electric powertrain, and that the outgoing one is therefore still produced, exclusively in Electric form (including a 5-seat MPV form in some markets).

Citroën Berlingo Electric

Finally The Nisan ENV-200 is the 3rd contender. Moving from a 24kWh to 40kWh battery pack led to a large number of orders at the European level but also supply issues, that could explain the lower local sales. Active battery (air) cooling and 50kW Chademo socket are standard.

Nissan ENV-200

 

You will find below the historical sales of Electric LCVs. Only these 3 Electric vans have been sold so far in Ireland, in relatively low volumes, but as for the other EV categories, 2018 is the best year ever.

2018 Used Imports – Full BEVs and PHEVs Sales

This entry was posted in News on by

Used imports registrations have been growing more than new cars ones at a general level, thanks to a currently cheap sterling, with over 100.000 cars registered (+7,8%). However only 693 of these were electric (BEVs). It is an increase of 42.6% over 2017 but still very low, considering that BEVs benefit from a €5000 VRT rebate on used vehicles too, making the import of second hand UK EVs even more interesting than ICE ones !

PHEVs imports on the other hand have been extremely healthy going from 224 (in 2017) to 1279 cars registered ! The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, extremely successful when new in the UK, can be found very easily on the second hand market and its very reasonable price helps it being very competitive in Ireland where it has never sold too well till now but where there is a demand on affordable PHEV SUVs.

For 2019, we have brexit, that will affect somehow the cost of imports, but still too many questions marks to predict what is actually going to happen.

 

 

 

Best selling Irish BEVs for 2018 (new car sales)

 

Best selling Irish PHEVs for 2018 (new car sales)

 

 

 

Best selling Irish PHEVs for 2018 (new car sales)

This entry was posted in News Sales on by

These are the top 10 best selling new PHEVs for 2018. Find at the bottom the comprehensive sales table, per month. You can also find here the 2018 best selling BEVs list.

1. BMW 530e iPerformance (150) : +384% – This is a very respectable level of sales considering that the 5-series is a premium model. A proof that it has gained respect from its customers and sales network : Only 67 petrol 5-series were sold during the same period. The 520d is still the star of that range but things are slowly changing. Find our test drive here.

 

2. Kia Niro PHEV (136) : It has landed in 2018 and is the most affordable PHEV on the Irish market, at €31.495. It is ticking all the boxes for an Irish success being a roomy family car with a crossover look, that allowed it to get the second spot of the market.

 

3. BMW 330e iPerformance (93) : -16% – It was the best selling PHEV last year but is now discontinued… The new 3-series has just been launched and the 330e variant will only arrive during the second part of 2019.

 

4. Volvo XC90 T8 (66) : +50% – The former best selling Irish PHEV SUV is still going strong.

 

5. Mini Countryman Cooper SE All4 (42) : +320% Find our test drive here

 

6. Volvo XC60 T8 (36) : +500%. Not as popular as the XC90 just yet but catching up.

 

7. Hyundai Ioniq PHEV (28) – Launched in 2018. Could do much better considering its €31995 price and its good efficiency.

 

7. Porsche Panamera (28) : A compliance car, but representing over 90% of Panamera sales, now that the diesel is gone.

 

9. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (26) : +24% – The original PHEV SUV is back, at a much cheaper price tag. Sales have shown great progress during the second part of 2018 and it could be in the 2019 top 3.

 

10. Toyota Prius (23) : -23%. This doesn’t seem to get much attention from is sales network, a collateral damage from the so called “self-charging” cars campaign that denigrates any car with a socket.

 

 

 

Best selling Irish BEVs for 2018 (new car sales)

This entry was posted in News Sales on by

These are the top 10 of best selling new BEVs for the 2018 year. Well, top 10 is a bit pushing it as there were exactly 10 different pure electric cars sold last year. More than 2017’s 9 models anyway and probably less than in 2019! Find the 2018 top 10 PHEVs list here

Find at the bottom the comprehensive 2018 sales tables

1. Nissan Leaf (789) : +207% – The Nissan Leaf is obviously a huge hit with a sales record over the previous generation, it is selling 8 times more than its next outsider, the Renault Zoé.

 

2. Renault Zoé (93) : +63% – Despite being now 6 years old, the Zoé sales have been progressing in Ireland again in 2018, helped with its new battery-inclusive pricing. With a start price of just €24,990, it’s also the cheapest BEV on the market and yet gets a decent 40kWh battery.

 

2. Hyundai Ioniq Electric (93) : -60% – This is a disappointment, when last year it was very close to the Nissan Leaf and gained respect within the EV community thanks to its high efficiency. How’s 2019 will go with the Kona’s competition ? We’re hoping for a bigger battery pack to be launched soon as it currently has the smaller capacity of lot.

 

4. Volkswagen E-Golf (80) : +700% – Finally some Irish interest into the well packaged but expensive popular car. The new Executive Edition might help sales to progress further in 2019.

 

5. Tesla Model S (79) : +119% – Tesla is now somewhat established in Ireland. Note that if its sales are behind the Mercedes S Class (101 units sold last year), it frankly outsells the BMW 7 series (42) and the Audi A8 (36).

 

6. BMW i3 (56) : +367% – Sales of the i3 are modest but progressing. 2019 looks even brighter thanks to a lower price and a bigger 42kWh battery.

 

7. Tesla Model X (36) : +157% – The big Tesla is doing well for a €100K+ car !

 

8. Jaguar i-pace (3) : Jaguar’s new model has recently landed in Ireland and will surely progress in 2019.

 

9. Nissan e-NV 200 Evalia (2) : -33%. It has just gone through a battery pack upgrade (from 24 to 40kWh)

 

9. Hyundai Kona (2) – The Kona and its class leading 64kWh battery pack is expected to be a success but supply with be an issue so it might not come anywhere close to the Nissan Leaf in 2019.

 

A total of 1233 new BEVs that were registered in 2018, doubling last year’s results, see below the details :