Great news for the European EV market (BEV+PHEV), growing 34% during the first semester 2019 compared to same period of 2018. Over 259.000 plug in vehicles were registered.
Most importantly for us, Ireland did show the most important year or year growth (+182%) and is now the 15th plug-in market in Europe (in volume)!
At a global level, and in terms of market share, Ireland is now at the 10th place, with 2.7% ! Far from Norway but on the right path, ahead of Germany, France and UK. Now that the buyers are here, what about the infrastructure ? It’s no longer a chicken and egg situation, right ?
PHEV sales keep progressing significantly, by almost 80% over July 2018. Last month saw a clear domination of the Kia Niro PHEV, absorbing over 50% of the total sales of the segment, with 139 units registered. The Mitsubishi Outlander is now clearly behind and the rest are mostly premium vehicles. Price point is a key factor here and the € 31,495 Niro showed that being an reasonably priced family PHEV does pay off. Next year other affordable newcomers like the Renault Captur PHEV should help reinforcing the segment…
2020 Renault Captur PHEV should help the segment to expand
The Irish BEV market is still very dynamic in July for the 192 plate change, despite the limited choice and the difficulty for dealers to supply some models.
On a car market shrinking by over 8% last month, BEVs sales were up 91.9% to 735, representing a 2.98% share. That share was just 1.42% in July last year. The Nissan Leaf is back on top with 293 units sold. The Hyundai Kona on the other hand is lagging behind with 169 units. 897 Konas have been sold so far in Ireland this year, which is quite an achievement considering the car is in high demand globally and the expected production is just 48000 for 2019. Next year the Kona EV will by possibly built in Czech republic, hopefully solving the supply issue, affecting as well the Kia E-Niro and E-Soul.
The Renault Zoé has its best month ever, with 94 units registered and gets back onto the podium, leaving the disappointing VW E-Golf behind (36 units).
Renault Zoé is 3rd in July with a record 94 units sold
Sales are premium EVs are all somewhat disapointing: BMW i3, Audi E-Tron, Tesla S and X registrations are all relatively slow, but the first batch of Tesla Model 3 has yet to be delivered.
The Kia Soul is back in Ireland. If the first generation was only available for us in ICE version (though you might see a few BEV imports from the UK), the new one is exclusively available in Electric form, named e-Soul.
The e-Soul is a small crossover, similar in size to the Hyundai Kona, Renault Captur or Peugeot 2008. Its boxy shape allows a very good interior room compared to the competition.
It is for now only available in a long-range option (64kWh) but it will be as well in mid-range form (39kWh). The 64kWh version has a 204hp motor allowing 0-100kph in just 7.9 seconds and WLTP range of 452km. The 39kWh is rated for 277km.
2 trims levels are on offer : The first version is the K2 (from €35,995) and is really well equipped : 17 inch alloys, 10.25” infotainment screen (with Android Auto and Apple Carplay), full LED headlights, front heated seats, lane keep assist or adaptive cruise control. The K3 (from €37.495) adds a number of extra features such as heads-up display, blind-sport collision system, front parking sensors, full leather upholstery and power driver seat lumbar support.
The Kia e-Soul is already available for test drives at dealers but stock is limited for 2019 so make sure you enquire rapidly, should you be interested by this car.
Kia e-Soul 64kWh K2 : €35,995 Kia e-Soul 64kWh K3 : €37,495
Prices include, VAT, VRT, VRT rebate, SEAI grand, and exclude metallic paint and delivery charges.
The Mini Cooper SE is coming soon and is surprisingly good value!
We did expect the Mini to arrive in Autumn … we’ll have to wait till spring but it’s keen price will make the wait worthwhile!
We knew a few things about the Mini : it shares its 184hp motor with the bmw i3S, packs a smaller 32,6kwh battery (28,9kwh useable), similar to the 94Ah i3 and therefore a 235-270 km WLTP range. It charges at 11kw on AC (16amp 3-phase) and 50kw on DC (CCS). Boot and cabine size is preserved, batteries are stored below in a T shape and the extra weight is just 145kg over a Cooper S automatic.
There will be three trim levels, beginning with the standard trim, with a monthly lease price of €309 or on the road price from €27,765 OTR (which includes SEAI grant €5,000 and VRT rebate €5,000).
The mid-level style MINI Electric is available at €30,405 OTR and offers a cloth/leather-look upholstery, additional exterior body colour and wheel options, as well as adding rear Park Distance Control (PDC), Rear Camera, Seat Heating, Driving Assistance Pack and Logo Projection.
Finally the top level offers the following on top of the mid-level trim: front PDC, Park Assist, Harmon Kardon sound system and Head-up Display. It also adds a Panoramic Sun Roof, Matrix LED’s and provides an upgrade to the 8.8” infotainment touch screen. Wireless phone charging is also included, in addition to MINI Yours Leather Lounge upholstery, a choice of five alloy wheels and six exterior body colours. All that for €35,695 OTR.
So where does this Mini stand ?
Compared to a Renault Zoé it starts at around €3000 more with the extra prestige, less range but more power. Basically all other EVs are more expensive. You wouldn’t think the Mini could be the second cheapest car of any sort, right?
Compared to a BMW i3, it has similar performance, a shorter range but costs around €10000 less ! It is actually similarily priced to a bigger Nissan Leaf 40, that won’t have much more range (285km WLTP).
Finally you have to compare it to the Mini Cooper S and this one starts at no less than €29,730 in its automatic form.
Will this Mini be a hit ? After undercutting the BMW i3, this competitive SE version now sets a benchmark for the upcoming Honda e, also aspiring to convince the premium small EV buyer. Meet the new Mini at dealers next spring.
Market share for new PHEVs has been at an all-time high with 1.91%, making it the best month so far for this category. The Kia Niro, Mitsubishi Outlander and Range Rover Sport are now dominating this segment.
Range Rover Sport, 3rd best seller in H1 2019
When comparing 2019 to 2018, we see a lot of changes in the ranking but also the offering : Many models were discontinued to to the new WLTP cycle (and some might be back later), whereas a handful arrived on the maket. But overall, the volumes grew significantly (+90.8%) and the market share went from 0.59% to 1.03%.
Face-lifted Mitsubishi Outlander in the 2nd spot after a facelift and drop in price.
Car registrations in June are very low, as usual in Ireland, and if just 53 BEVs have been registered last month, they represent no less than 3.76% of the total car market. The all new Kia E-Soul has just landed with 9 registrations.
More important is to see the evolution of sales of this first semester 2019, compared to 2018. First you can see that 5 new models have been launched since last July, one of which, the Kona Electric, is now directly on top. The rest of the top 5 (Nissan Leaf, VW Golf, Renault Zoé and BMW i3) all benefit from important growth. The Hyndai Ioniq sales are almost stable and the Tesla Model S and X are the only BEVs which sales decreased (like in many other markets).
Finally note that the market share of EVs has significantly grown from less than 1% to almost 2.5% showing a growing appetite from the public, and it looks like we are finally catching up with the rest of Europe.
“The IEVOA welcomes today’s Climate Action Plan announcement from the Irish government and its objectives in moving Ireland away from our heavy reliance on fossil fuels and to dramatically reduce our co2 emissions. This will continue to support the EV adoption growth and will therefore have to be backed up by serious investments. Association members are eager for an expansion of a reliable charging network – particularly fast charging hubs, with multiple charging ports, offering increased availability, reliability, supported with high levels of maintenance so it scales all the way to be able to cater for 1 million vehicles in 2030. We look forward to further announcements.”
EasyGo just updated their pricing structure, for their fast chargers, with a cheaper rate when you charge at a lower power.
Every EV owner knows that in winter, with a cold battery, charging speed is much lower and it’s possible to see rates as low as 20kw on some models whilst in summer you would get twice that power. On that basis, a price per minute makes your charge much more pricey. On the other side of the spectrum, a per kwh charge may seem fairer but hogging becomes a major risk.
Every provider knows it’s a difficult problem to solve and EasyGo just came with an original solution : a price per kwh that will vary depending on your peak charging speed.
The connection fee is still €0.24 and on top of that you now have 3 per minute rates. This rate will be applied to the whole session duration :
0-20kw : €0.17 per minute 21-35kw : €0.25 per minute 36-50kw : €0.35 per minute
If this will not change anything for most EVs, able to charge at over 40kw. But vehicles like the Nissan Leaf 24, in winter, will benefit from a more reasonable rate as you can see on the updated pricing table below :
EasyGo has recently opened its second Fast charger location in Kinnegad Plaza (M6/M4 junction), co. Westmeath, and has recently launched an Android app (and soon for iPhone).
Used BEVs imports are still down, to just 38 vehicles in May, the lowest since the beginning of the year, and also down 45% over May 2018. On the other hand, PHEVs imports are growing 145% year on year, still led by the popular Mitsubishi Outlander and very accessible out-of-lease German premium cars, available for some well below GBP 20,000, which combined with a low VRT make themselves very competitive in the Irish market where such vehicles have been sold in very little numbers!
The Kia Niro PHEV is going very strong in May with 38 sales, that is almost half of all PHEV registered last month. Other models are much more discreet but overall Plug-in Hybrids represented 1.47% of the new car market, which is a record so far this year. The new entrant in the market this month is the Audi A7 e-tron with just 1 registration.
We’re getting into the quiet part of the semester, but BEVs sales are still significantly up year on year, by 95.5% . The Hyundai Kona is still at the top this month, and still leads 2019 with a total of 715 vehicles on the road vs 644 Leafs.
No surprise in the rest of this month registrations. A few more e-Niro have been registered (still no e-Soul) whereas just 2 Tesla were sold. The first model 3s might be delivered in June (July at the latest) and we can hope to some positive changes for the American brand, and for Kia.
It is finally here. The most anticipated EV of all times is now available in Ireland, 3 years after being revealed to the public. As with the UK, just 2 versions are available for now, with prices starting from €48,900 : Standard Range Plus (SR+) and Performance. The Long Range (LR) will probably come later.
The Standard Range Plus (SR+) is rear wheel drive, and has a pack of approximatively 55kWh useable. Combined with an excellent efficiency, it can acheive 415km on the WLTP cycle.
Standard equipment is the same as the rest of Europe with Standard Audio and navigation, 18 inch Aero wheels, glass roof, Autopilot (which isn’t one). Black is the only no-cost colour, and you can get Blue, Grey (€1,100 for either) , Pearl whilte (€1,600) or Red (€2,200) as well. You can pay €5,400 for “Full Self-Driving Capability“, or €1,100 for the trailer hitch (towing capacity : 910kg). The 19 inch Sport wheels or the Black and White interior are unfortunately not yet available on RHD markets.
At the top of the range, the Performance model is 4wheel drive and you can spot it by the wording “Dual motor” underlined on the bootlid, a carbon fiber spoiler on the top of it and a 10mm lower suspension, sitting on bigger 20 inches wheels. It has a 74kWh (useable) battery pack for a range of 530km WLTP. Compared to the SR+, it also adds navigation with traffic information, a better sound system, in-car streaming or an internet browser. It is available from €60,700 and options remain the same as on the SR+, bar the tow hitch, unavailable on this variant.
Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus : €48,900
Tesla Model 3 Performance : €60,700
More information about the Model 3 can be found on Tesla website
These are some of the EVs we can expect to see on our roads within the next 12 months. There is a lot going on, and it only covers BEVs, not PHEVs.
BMW iX3
We can expect 400km WLTP range for this other premium SUV. It should however be smaller than the Audi E-tron, Mercedes EQC and Jaguar i-Pace. Cheaper too ?
BMW iX3 Concept
DS 3 Crossback e-tense
PSA’s premium brand will have its first EV, and it will also be the first small premium electric SUV in Europe. It will have the same powertrain as the Peugeot e-208 (50kWh battery, 136hp motor, 11kw AC charging), with added luxury.
Coming in Autumn 2019, don’t expect it below €40,000
DS 3 Crossback e-tense
Honda e
The 95% ready version has been presented in 2019 Geneva motor show. The WLTP range is only around 200km but this also means the car should be lighter and could be cheaper than the other supermini (Zoé, e-208). It innovates with 3 very large screens and cameras instead of wing mirrors.
Pre-orders are now open and deliveries will start late 2019 in Japan, and hopefully early 2020 in Europe.
Hyundai Ioniq facelift
With a power increase and a bigger battery (38,3kWh instead of 28kWh), the Ioniq will no longer be the EV with the smallest battery around. It should still be one of the most efficient EVs around, however if it charges like the e-Niro and Kona equipped with that powertrain/battery ensemble, it might disapoint current Ioniq Electric users, used to really fast charges till 77%, this one will slow down its charge way before that.
Hyundai Ioniq facelift
Kia E-Niro and Soul EV
The Korean company expects around 150 EVs to be bought in 2019 – e-Niros and new e-Soul. That is scheduled to spiral the year after to around 500.
Kia e-Soul
Mini hatch Cooper S E
It is expected to have the 184hp motor of the BMW i3s, and should be really fun to drive! Unfortunately since it wasn’t thought from the ground up as an EV, the Mini Cooper S E will only get a 33kWh battery. It should arrive by the end of 2019.
Nissan Leaf e-plus
62kWh battery, 100kW Chademo charging, 214hp but still passively cooled battery, it is almost ready to be launched, but in limited volumes so don’t wait too long before ordering one or you might wait till 2020. Expect a €6000 premium over the 40kWh version, for a price of around €36.000 for the SV Premium, and under €40.000 for the luxurious SVE.
Opel Corsa-e
Opel will come into the EV game with a very good EV on paper : 50kWh battery, 136hp, 100kW CCS charging and a 7 to 11kW onboard charger. This will allow a WLTP range of 330km. It will be presented to the public in September in the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Opel e-Corsa
Peugeot e-208
Technically similar to the Opel e-Corsa, it will also have the 50kWh battery and 7 to 11kW AC and 100kW CCS charging. It will be launched in Autumn, at the same time as the ICE versions, and we can hope for the first Irish registrations early 2020.
Peugeot e-208
Renault Zoé2
Renault is very discreet about the replacement of the Zoé, the best selling EV in Europe so far this year, but this should be considerably improved over the outgoing model. It will be like for the 2018 Nissan Leaf a major facelift, and the battery pack should be bigger to 50kWh with 100kw CCS charging like the Peugeot e-208 and the Corsa-e. But it will keep its much more powerful 22kW onboard charger, allowing to recharge in hundreeds of Irish locations in just over 2 hours, something still unique on the market. Presentation for Frankfurt Motor Show (September) and should be on the roads very quickly after that.
Skoda CityGo e-iv (and sisters Vw e-up and Seat miii)
The e-up will no longer be the only VW group triplet to be electrified. The battery pack size is 36.8kWh, much more than the 18kWh of the original one. With 265km WLTP, 210Nm of torque and 82hp, it could be Ireland’s cheapest EV, if the VW group decides to import it, unlike the original e-up. If yes, you can expect it early 2020.
Skoda CityGo e-iv
Tesla Model 3
You probably know everything already about the Tesla Model 3. We are just missing the prices… expected from around €48.000 in Standard Range Plus trim.
Volswagen i.d. 3
Pre-reservation started in May, but presentation of the production
version will be in Frankfurt Motor Show (September). Expect the first
i.d.3 to arrive in Ireland for the summer 2020.
The popular Renault Master van is now available in a fully electric variant, called Z.E.33.
As its name implies, it has a 33kWh battery pack (31kWh useable) and a 7.2kw AC charger. The exact same setup you can find onthe Kangoo Z.E.33.
The motor is just 76hp (you read well!) and the maximum speed is limited at 100 kph. You can immediately tell that this vehicle is focused for a local usage. As for the other Renault vehicles to date, there is no DC capability and this means you need a minimum of 5 hours to fully charge this van.
You can get the Master Z.E. as a panel van, from 8 till 17 cubic meters (3 lenghts, 2 heights), or on a platform cab, for all sorts of transformations. It can carry 1000 to 1100kg of cargo.
The range is 200km NEDC, which means somewhere between 100 and 150km in real life, depending on your load and driving style.
This van is available from €70.800 after grant, which seems quite disproportionate, but keep in mind that this vehicle is aimed at profesionals, who usually prefer to lease. Lease prices would have to be much more competitive. More information about the Master Z.E.33 is available on Renault website.
A total of 249 EVs (41 BEVs and 208 PHEVs) were imported in April into Ireland. BEVs imports are still relatively low whereas PHEVs are progressing. This brings the total number of imports to 990 so far this year.
Irish new PHEVs registrations are up 28.6% in April, to a market share of 1.11%, far behind the volumes BEVs are now achieving. The Kia E-Niro is still on top and the Range Rover Sport is still very strong with a total of 106 registrations so far this year, catching up on the BMW 530e (122 units to date). Numbers look relatively low but keep in mind that the luxury car segment is small. The PHEV variant actually represents over 60% of Range Rover Sport sales (and 52% of the “regular” Range Rover’s) !
