Here are the best selling Plug-in hybrids for 2019, in Ireland. 26 different PHEVs were available at some point on the market in 2019, actually the same number as in 2018. Half of the models sold 10 or less units in 2019 which shows that it is still a niche market, mostly occupied by premium manufacturers. You will find down below the number of 2019 registrations, and evolution compared to 2018.
Kia Niro PHEV– 427 units (2018 : 136) – It is logically leading the market, as it is the most affordable PHEV, whist being the only non-premium family SUV available. Ticking all the boxes and looking to pursure its lead for 2020.
3. Land Rover Range Rover Sport – 172 units (2018: 7 ) – 66% of Range Rover Sports sold in Ireland have the PHEV powertrain. A trend we can see with many large vehicles allowing a much lower VRT and motor tax.
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
4. BMW 530e – 112 units (2018 : 150) – Sales are slowing down for the 530e but it remains the most popular PHEV saloon in Ireland. The 530e represents 10% of total 5-series sales (9% in 2018).
BMW 530e iPerformance
5. Volvo XC90 T8 – 83 units (2018 : 66).
Volvo XC90 T8
6. BMW 330e – 79 units (2018 : 93) – The new version of the 330e allow it to lead the market in the second half of 2019. Sales should be quite strong in 2020.
BMW 330e iPerformance
7. Mini Countryman Cooper SE All4 – 52 units (2018 : 42) – The Mini Countryman is not a very popular car but when you get one, there is over 60% chances you will go for the PHEV version !
Mini Countryman Cooper SE All4
8.Volvo XC60 T8 – 44 units (2018 : 36)
Volvo XC60 T8
9. Land Rover Range Rover – 39 units (2018 : 8) – Every second Range Rover sold in Ireland is now a plug-in hybrid !
If BMW has yet to launch another BEV (The i3 is still the only pure electric vehicles from BMW, awaiting the iX3), they have developed a pretty comprehensive range of plug-in hybrids, with the 225 xe, 330e, 530e, 745e saloons, the 225 xe Active Tourer MPV plus the X3 xDrive 30e and X5 xDrive 45e SUVs. And of course the i8. 2 more SUVs are now joining the family : X1 xDrive 25e and X2 xDrive 25e.
The X1 and X2 are mid-size SUV and the powertrain has a setup already seen with the 225 xe Active Tourer and Mini Countryman Cooper SE All 4 : A 1.5 liter turbocharged 3-cylinder is powering the front wheel whereas the electric motor is powering the rear wheels. This configuration allows 220hp and 385Nm, resulting in a 0-100km/h acheived in just under 7 seconds.
The battery pack has a capacity of 10 kWh and is able to charge at 3.6kw, in 3 to 5 hours depending if you have a home charge point or are plugging on a regular socket. The different driving modes will allow you to drive in 100% electric mode till 135kph.
The WLTP range of up to 57km and co2 emissions are between 43 and 48g of co2 depending on the options chosen.
The X1 is available now, in same lines (Sport Line, xLine and M Sport), and available options as the ICE versions. The X2 will arrive later in 2020
BMW X1 xDrive 25e – € 50,055
Price includes VAT, VRT, VRT rebate and excludes delivery charges
Here are the best selling EVs for 2019, in Ireland. First of all we have 16 different BEVs on the market in 2019 versus just 10 in 2018. You will find below the number of 2019 registrations, and evolution compared to 2018.
Yes this year we have a tie for the top spot with 1086 units. The Nissan Leaf is no longer dominating the segment even if its sales are progressing by 38% over 2018 (789 sales). The Kona wasn’t really sold in 2018 (just 2 registrations) and is the big hit of 2019.
Nissan Leaf
Hyundai Kona Electric
3 – Renault Zoé – 262 units (2018 : 93 units). The small French car is down 1 spot in 2019 despite a 182% evolution in sales compared to 2018!
Renault Zoé
4 – Volkswagen E-Golf – 247 units (2018 ; 80 units). The E-Golf sales have increased by 209% over the previous year.
5 –Tesla Model 3 – 187 units. It has freshly landed and yet is already the 5th best selling EV for the year 2019.
6 – BMW i3 – 135 units (2018 : 56 units). Still in 6th place for the quirky premium city car, up 141% over 2018.
7 – Hyundai Ioniq– 133 units (2018 : 93 units). The Hyundai Ioniq only progressed by 43% this year, and is down 4 spots.
Hyundai Ioniq Electric
8 – Kia E-Niro – 72 units – new comer for 2019
Kia E-Niro
9 –Kia E-Soul– 62 units – Another new comer for 2019 as the previous version was not imported into Ireland.
Kia E-Soul
10 – Tesla Model S – 49 units – (2018 : 79 units) – The American luxury car has lost 5 spots and sales decreased by 38% over 2018.
Tesla Model X, Jaguar i-Pace, Nissan ENV200 are now outside of the top 10 … see full details in the table below.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E is coming to Ireland, before the end of 2020 and we start to have some more information about this model, as per Ford.ie website.
Mustang Mach-E
The base model will be available from around €50,000 similar to a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range plus. For this price, you will also have a rear wheel drive vehicle with the “small” battery (75.7kWh), much bigger than the Tesla’s 50kWh, but the range is 450km (compared to the Model 3’s 409km) due to the less efficient motor and aerodynamics. You can get a bigger 98.8kWh battery allowing 600km range, for an undisclosed price.
Mustang Mach-E Premium
The Premium AWD version will be available from around €65,000 with more equipment and 4 wheel drive. The range falls to 420km due to the extra weight, and the larger battery is also an option (for a range of 540km).
Mustang Mach-E First Edition
Finally the First Edition is available from around €75,000 and comes standard with 4WD and the larger battery pack.
You can find more details about the Mustang Mach-E on Ford Ireland website and we will keep you posted later this year when more information, specs and prices are revealed for the Irish market.
PHEV sales have progressed in 2019, but at a slower pace than with BEVs. 82% growth is still very respectable and it shows us some interesting elements : Out of the 26 different PHEVs available on the market, 21 are from Premium brand and just 5 are non-premium models, 2 of which (Kia Niro and Mitsubishi Outlander) are actually leading by far and representing almost 50% of total sales thanks to their popular SUV shape and more “affordable” price point.
Kia Niro PHEV
More interesting is the fact that if new PHEV sales are lagging behind BEV sales, the used import market shows us a very opposite reaction : The PHEV market almost doubled in 2019 to 2424 units, way more than the 642 BEVs that crossed the Irish sea last year. This is explained by the fact that PHEVs had a lot of incentives in the UK, resulting in high sales there. This has become a good source of used vehicles for us to tap into and this trend should pursue into 2020, with the VRT rebates still making these PHEVs even more interesting to import compared to similar diesels, as these will now be hit by the new Nox tax.
We’re in January 2020 and it’s time to look back onto 2019.
First of all, the Irish BEV market almost tripled over 2018, from 1233 (and 0.98% market share) in 2018 to 3444 units this year, and a more significant 2.94% market share in 2019.
Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is still on top, but the new kid on the block for 2019, the Hyundai Kona Electric is also there, with the exact same number of registrations (1086) ! These 2 are each covering a third of the BEV market and the next EVs are far behind : The Renault Zoé has progressed a lot over 2018 (262 vs 93 sales) but still represent less than 10% of the market, and is underrepresented compared to its European performance where it is at the top, behind the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla blockbuster has been launched in ireland during the last quarter of 2019 and will be the one to watch for 2020 !
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric
The used import market has been a bit sluggish at the beginning of the year but picked up again in Q4. The Nissan Leaf is still representing the majority of the imported vehicles but the Tesla Model S is second. It is normal to see it in this place considering that the American brand only started selling their vehicles in Ireland back in 2017. There is a local demand for older Tesla Model S, that are now affordable, with an almost reasonable VRT. We can expect this market to grow again in 2020.
How will 2020 be for new sales ? It is really hard to tell. Of course the many EVs coming onto the market this year will help the market growing further. We can for sure pass the 5% market share, if the manufacturers can respond to the demand. At least, the aggressive European co2 targets will now push them to sell EVs and not try to steer an EV prospect into getting a diesel.
On Tuesday 26th November I was invited to attend an ESB Networks Innovation Event at Explorium in my role as IEVOA Chairman.
Attendees included representatives from across ESB as well as many stakeholders such as SEAI, CRU, Eir Grid, MaREI, many other ESB Networks partners, energy generators, commercial customers and competitors, such as Gas Networks Ireland, and academic institutions such as DCU & UCC.
For context, while reading this please bear in mind that ESB Networks and ESB ECars are two different parts of the ESB group. ESB Networks have a much wider brief, ESB ECars are a customer of ESB Networks in the same way that Ionity, EasyGo and any other business requiring electricity network connection are.
By 2030, in order to meet Ireland’s challenging targets for emissions reduction and renewable generation, much of our transport and heat needs to be electrified. Therefore, an important part of ESB Networks innovation brief over the coming years is to enable the decarbonisation if transport and heating through electrification.
Many innovative projects were discussed in areas including integration of renewables, customer engagement, asset optimisation, electrification of heat and transport, network flexibility and resilience, but for the purpose of this summary I’ll try keep to those most relevant to transport and therefore IEVOA.
You can read more about the ESB Networks innovation strategy here
Dingle Project
This is ESB Networks largest current innovation project, a 3 year community engagement programme basically using Dingle as a testbed to trial a number of technologies to gain knowledge of future network needs. In the mobility space this includes the leasing of 17 EVs for the community alongside use of battery storage and smart grid/charging capabilities including V2G (Vehicle To Grid).
This will be a great shop window for EV adoption in rural communities so I’ve agreed that we can help publicise what they are doing and also consult on which vehicles they should consider trialing.
Energy Citizens
A new term for me, but apparently if you are thinking about how you use energy then you are an Energy Citizen. Further, if you are taking specific actions with regard to how you use energy then you are an Active Energy Citizen. So by driving an EV, maybe charging them at night when renewables are plentiful or generating energy from solar PV or upgrading even our homes to use heat pumps we are all being good active energy citizens and ESB applaud us. So, well done to us, we are making a difference!
Micro-generation
I learnt that June 2021 is the date by which it should be possible for consumers generating excess energy from solar PV and the like to get payment for what they put back into the grid and also that connection of these devices to the grid should be free of charge.
Workshop
The afternoon session concluded with a series of workshops, I participated in ‘Optimising the Network for the Electrification of Heat and Transport’.
This focused on getting feedback from participants on the following questions:
What do customers need to enable the electrification of heat and transport?
What areas need to be prioritised.
I fed in specifically around the need for reliable, cost effective and plentiful supply of fast and slow charge points and the need for public knowledge building initiatives around EV adoption and EV champions. In terms of prioritisation I highlighted the immediate need for rapid charging hubs and plentiful charging alternatives for those who cannot charge at home.
This session included lots of discussion from stakeholders around concerns whether the network will be able to support every house having an EV home charger and a heat pump, but the impression I got throughout the day was that ESB are taking this seriously and have specific projects looking at future network requirements required to support electrification of transport and heating in particular. This tallies with what ESB eCars have previously told us, basically, don’t worry about the network, it will be ready. So I felt reassured on this point.
The day concluded with an awesome lightning show ⚡️, I’d recommend a trip to Explorium for this alone!
There was a lot more in the day but I wanted to keep this brief-ish. If you made it this far, thank you! There I’ll be another similar event in 6 months so it will be good to gauge progress then.
If you have any questions or feedback please feel free to comment below or email chair@irishevowners.ie
24 PHEVs were sold in November, a 26% increase over November 2018. Volumes are becoming low at this period of the year but PHEVs are representing a 3.12% market share. The BMW 330e is still the most popular choice (69 sales since its launch in August).
Used imports on still on the rise (+43.3% vs 2018) with for the first time the BMW 530e leading, ahead of the Mistubishi Outlander.
Good news for Ireland ! The Tesla Model 3 is finally being delivered in numbers. 136 exactly. Consequently, it leads the segment in November, ahead of the Hyundai Kona (34) and Nissan Leaf (13). BEV market share is at an impressive 25.88% . Of course this is November and overall sales are very low anyway, so it’s not too significant. Still, even without Model 3 sales, BEV market share would have been over 8%.
To date in 2019, the Nissan Leaf (1083 registrations) is leading the segment by… just one unit over the Hyundai Kona Electric (1082).
The used import market is showing again signs of recovery, with a second month of growth in a row (+44% compared to November 2018), still dominated by the Nissan Leaf.
The 2020 Hyundai Ioniq is now available in Ireland, and it is welcoming a larger battery, to finally leave the crown of smallest battery of the market… to the new Mini! The useable size goes from 28 to 38.3 kWh, which is still rather low for a family car, but partially compensated by the legendary efficiency of the Ioniq. At 312km WLTP, it means the real life range should be above 250km, 50 more than the previous model, and also more than a 40kWh Leaf. It still charges on CCS but the new battery is actually charging slower than the previous model.
The redesigned interior features a 10,25 inches screen
If the exterior retains its general design, with a new still-challenging silver “grill cover” in front, the biggest changes are to be found inside the cabin with a redesigned dashboard and a new infotainment system. It includes a large 10,25 inches screen, offers Android Auto, Apple Carplay, integrated navigation with the upgrated Infinity sound system. Leather seats are now standard and besides adaptive cruise control, nothing is really missing from the long list of standard equipment.
But, unfortunately, one of the best selling point of the Ioniq, its attractive sub-30K pricing, is now gone. Price went up by no less than €6,000 which make this car more expensive than a fully equipped 40kWh Leaf and barely less than the Kia E-Niro and E-Soul, 2 models offering a much better range.
Hyundai Ioniq – €34,850
Price includes VRT relief, SEAI grant and exclude metallic paint and delivery charges.
The much loved Hyundai Kona has been suffering from 2 weaknesses : The lack of native navigation system but also the relatively slow 7.4kw onboard charger, making an full AC charge in no faster than 9 hours. This can now be reduced to just 6 hours thanks to the 3-phase 11kw onboard charged offered as standard on the new Premium trim.
Aesthetically, the Kona Premium looks just the same as the regular one, but for an extra €2,000 it offers as well a larger 10.5 inches infotainment screen with built-in navigation (the “base” version has only Apple Carplay/Android Auto). The stereo is also upgraded with a 8-speaker Krell Audio System.
Black interior and new 10.25” infotainment screen
Finally you can now choose the interior color, as a full black leather can be picked as an alternative to the light grey upholstery. The 2-tone paint is available for €600, on both trims.
Hyundai Kona – €38,630 Hyundai Kona Premium – €40,630
Prices include VRT relief, SEAI grant and exclude metallic paint and delivery charges.
The Peugeot e-208, with its 136hp motor and standard CCS port, is going to be available from spring 2020 in Ireland. Peugeot is launching the petrol variant of its supermini at the same time as the petrol/diesel ones. The e-208 will be available from €27,334 (ex-delivery, including incentives) in 4 trims : Active, Allure, GT Line and GT.
The Active is already very well equipped with 16” alloy wheels, climate control, alarm, cruise control with speed limiter, trafic sign recognition, automatic headlamps and wipers, electric parking brake, automatic emergency braking system and rear parking sensors.
The Allure version adds electrically folding mirrors, rear electric windows, 3D instrument cluster, and rear privacy glass.
The GT-Line will offer a more sporty look as well as electrically folding mirrors, full LED headlights, reverse camera, ambient lightning and 17” alloy wheels.
Finally the GT trim (actually exclusive to the electric variant of the 208) is at €32,660 offering alcantara sports heated seatsn handsfree access and blindsport detection.
All in all, that e-208 seems to be quite well priced compared to the Renault Zoé : you get more equipment for a similar cost. The e-208 compares to the Zoé R135 in terms of power and charging capability so on that perspective it seems to be better value for money. However it has only a 7kw on-board charger (vs 22kw for the Zoé), while the CCS port can support up to 100kw (to be verified) vs 50kw on the Zoé. The range is 340km WLTP which is significantly less than the 395 km of the Renault. The reason for that is not that the e-208 is inefficient, but Peugeot’s battery size is 46kWh useable (50kWh raw) while the Zoé one is actually 52kWh!
October PHEV sales are also healthy this month with a progress of 118% over October 2018, and 70 units registered. It represents a 3.21% market share. The new BMW 330e is like last month leading the segment, while the Kia Niro keeps its 2019 crown with 425 units registered year to date.
BMW 330e
Used imports are at an all time high with 275 vehicles registered last month! We can note the recent progress of the BMW 530e, these cars being now available at under GBP 25,000, with the reduced VRT and the low exchange rate, making these sometimes more affordable than the common 520d !
This is an exceptional month of October for BEV sales. No less than 247 cars were registered witch represents, in a traditionally low month, a 11.3% share of the new car market !
It cannot be explained by a specific model. Of course the Tesla model 3 is now getting delivered, but with just 23 units, represents less than 10% of the segment. All BEVs are doing very well this month, topped by 80 Hyundai Kona Electric, now just 21 units behind the Nissan Leaf (1070 to date). Which car will get the 2019 crown ? Too early to say !
Hyundai Kona Electric is leading new BEV sales in October
88 used BEVs were also imported in October, with is the best month of 2019. The Nissan Leaf is still dominating the segment.
On
Wednesday (23-Oct-2019), ESB ecars announced details of the
arrangements to be put in place for paid charging on their Fast
Public Charging infrastructure.
Paid charging on 50kW fast chargers will commence on 18th November 2019
Users wishing to avail of this service will be required to sign-up from 29th October
Charging will be priced per kWh used with two price plan options:
‘Pay As You Go’ at 33c per kWh
‘Membership’ with a €5 monthly subscription fee at 29c per kWh
A limited time introductory offer (available from 29th October until the end of November) will provide the ‘Membership’ rate with no monthly subscription for 12 months
A €5 overstay fee will apply for charging sessions exceeding 45 minutes
Standard 22kW AC chargers will continue to be free to use for the time being
Pricing for High Power Chargers (150kW DC) will be announced once the first high power hubs are installed in early 2020
Fees will not apply to the network in Northern Ireland at this time.
The
IEVOA is broadly supportive of the measures announced having long
held the view that the introduction of paid charging will be positive
for current EV owners and will also support on-going EV adoption in
line with the objective of the Climate Action Plan. Further, we
commend the ESB in taking on board feedback from our members during
the consultation process as the measures announced very much follow
what the majority of our membership indicated they would like to see
when surveyed earlier this year.
The
advent of paid charging will allow expansion of the existing EV
infrastructure in line with ESBs plans announced in late 2018,
including the much needed introduction of high power charging hubs at
key locations. It will also allow for the network to be fully
maintained and upgraded as required into the future. Furthermore,
paid charging opens the way for competition allowing other charge
network operators to bring their plans to fruition. This can only be
positive for EV owners with more chargers, more choice and
competition on pricing. Meanwhile, the price point selected will
still ensure that EVs are cheaper to run than their ICE equivalents,
whilst encouraging those able to avail of home charging to do so as a
preference. Finally, overstay fees should help discourage blocking
of chargers for excessive periods, hence the network should be more
available to those who need it.
Feedback
so far from our membership indicates that they may have liked to have
seen a higher overstay fee and also measures to ensure that the
overstay fee isn’t easily avoided by unplugging and restarting
another session, but we are assured that these trends will be
monitored.
We
must also acknowledge that this is new territory in Ireland and a
starting point. The ESB are open to revising these measures should
this prove necessary. To this end the IEVOA will keep close contact
with ESB ecars over the coming months following introduction of paid
charging, passing on feedback from our members and ensuring their
voices are heard.
New PHEV sales are representing a record 1.96% of total passenger car sales in September, the 67 registrations are representing a 52% increase over the same month last year. The newly launched BMW 330e is the best selling model this month with 27 registrations.
Used imports are also very dynamic with 216 registrations, best so far this year, on a 53.8% increase over September 2018.
Mistubishi Outlander PHEV, most popular PHEV import in September and YTD.
The updated Renault Zoé has been highly anticipated by the EV community and it will arrive very soon in Ireland. Not only this is (still) the most affordable EV on the market, but it also (still) is the only one that can charge at 22kw at one of the hundreds AC chargers spread out all around the country, making it the most versatile EV available.
We know the Renault Zoé, it has been around since 2013 and is so far in 2019 the 2nd best selling BEV in the European market, behind the Tesla Model 3. Renault’s goal is to bring affordable electric cars for the masses and it naturally improved its Zoé.
You’ve probably read about the new Zoé before, with its impressive range of 395km WLTP, massive bootspace and available CCS connector, but we now have more details on the range available for the Irish market, and the good new is that it is (still) great value for money.
This new range starts at €26,990 with the Play R110 model. Compared to the outgoing Zoé Expression, it costs €1,400 extra but adds the 52kWh battery (instead of 41kWh), a more powerful 110hp motor (vs 90hp previously), and a number of new standard equipment such as Full LED headlights (previous Zoé owners will appreciate that), a full 10-inch digital instrument cluster, hands-free key card, automatic wipers and headlights. The infotainment is powered by the new Easy Link system, that comes standard with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Of course ou still have Air conditioning or cruise control and speed limiter. This comes with the more efficient 15 inch wheels.
The 10inch display is standard on all Zoé (navigation available from Iconic trim)
At €28,990, the Zoé Iconic R110 will be the popular option. It is just €1,000 over the outgoing Dynamique Nav R110 and adds to the Play version 16 inch alloys, built-in satellite navigation, climate control, inductive smart phone charging, electric rear windows, a number of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) such as lane departure warning, lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition, the 100% recycled seat upholstery and dashboard trim, and rear parking sensors. 50kw CCS connector is a €750 option.
Zoé GT Line R135 with optional 17 inch alloys
For €30,990, you can afford yourself the Iconic R135. This version will be aimed for EV drivers who do more regular long distances trips. For €2,000 over the Iconic R110, this version adds the more powerful 135hp motor, allowing faster acceleration and top speed, but also the desirable DC CCS 50kW connector, a must when going for a long trip across the country.
Zoé GT Line interior
Finally at €31,990 the GT Line R135 is topping the new Zoé range, with diamond cut 16 inch alloy wheels, the very sexy 9.3 inch portrait Easy Link central screen, front parking sensors, rear-view camera, semi synthetic-leather and recycled cloth upholstery and Blind sport warning.
All Zoé come with a 5-year 200.000 km warranty (8-year 160.000 km for the battery).
Which one should I choose ?
The Iconic R110 will probably be the most popular choice. The price is reasonable, performance is adequate and it’s really well equipped. For a car that is meant to stay around town or be used as a second car, the lack of standard DC charger might not be an issue but it would be wiser get the option, as it will be an feature people will look for in a few years when you’ll resell the car. If you really want to go for the more powerful motor, go directly to the GT Line R135, as it offers many more features than the Iconic, such as the larger screen or the reverse camera, for just €1,000 extra.
When can I get it ?
The new Zoé will be available for deliveries from January, so you might want to visit your dealer quite soon.
BEV sales are up 20.6% for September to 117 units, for a 3.41% market share. The news of the month are the first 13 Tesla Model 3, that places the model directly in the lucky 13th position for 2019 (4th for September alone). The Nissan Leaf is quietly passing the 1000 unit sold mark so far this year, and is still ahead of the Kona Electric.
The first Tesla Model 3 have landed !
As for the used imports, the month of September was actually the best this year, but still down compared to 2018. Note that no less than 17 used Tesla Model S were brought in last month.
Tesla Model S was a surprisingly popular used import last month !
The PHEV market is just as dynamic as the BEV market with sales increasing by 39.4% year on year for August, to 91 units and 1.79% market share. The Plug in market share was again above 5% last month (and 3.66% so far this year)
Kia Niro PHEV
The Kia Niro PHEV is still dominating the segment, but this month we welcome 2 new models, the new BMW 330e (10 sales) and the Mercedes E300de (yes it’s a diesel PHEV – 1 sale). See below details for new sales and used imports.
