Sales

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.

1 – Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Kona – 1086 units

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.

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!

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.

8 – Kia E-Niro – 72 units – new comer for 2019

9 – Kia E-Soul – 62 units – Another new comer for 2019 as the previous version was not imported into Ireland.

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.

Find below the top 10 for 2018

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.

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.

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 !

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.

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.

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.

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 !

88 used BEVs were also imported in October, with is the best month of 2019. The Nissan Leaf is still dominating the segment.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

New BEV sales still increased last month, by 4.24% year on year. That said, August 2018 was particularly strong due to the launch of the Leaf40 so it’s actually a quite good result as shown by the 3.35% market share achieved !

The Hyundai Kona is the strongest this month, catching up with the Nissan Leaf. Which one will be the king of 2019 sales ? Too early to say ! Note as well the 3 first Irish Mercedes EQC … and we’re still waiting on the Tesla Model 3.

Used imports are still decreasing (41.3% year on year) . See below for more details

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 ?

Source : EV-volumes

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…

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).

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.

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.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

See the tables below for more details.