Sales

This is another very good month for BEV sales, and once again thanks to the Nissan Leaf, totalling 112 registrations in August. Not only the popular hatchback accounts for 2 thirds of BEV registrations but is also in the Irish top 10 !

Leaf was Ireland’s 10th Best selling car in August !

BEVs accounted for a very impressive 2.8% of the total new car market. Note that besides the Leaf most BEVs are performing quite well. The Jaguar i-Pace is entering the market with 1 registration in August.

Used BEVs imports are still strong with 75 registration (+38.9% vs 2017), best month of the year 2018 so far.

The first Irish i-Pace has been registered last month

Source : Simi

Irish new PHEV sales are still up, to 142 units registered, and 0.53% market share in July, up 149% over July 2017.

The Kia Niro PHEV is still going strong since its launch last spring, and now leading the segment (both in July and year to date), thanks to 56 new registrations.

The used import market is still lead by the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. totalling half of July registrations (91 in total).

A total of 555 used imports and 575 new PHEVs sold so far this year, more than were ever registered previous to 2018 (see table below), showing that PHEVs have now gained a real interest in the eyes of the Irish public.

For the 182 plate season, Irish BEV Sales are up a massive 247% in July, to 386 units (compared to 111 last year). The growth is solely due to the registration of 305 Nissan Leaf, showing the huge interest in this model, and probably an adequate supply! Not only it’s the first time so many new EVs are registered in a single month but the Leaf is in the Irish top 30 with over 1% market share. So far this year 915 new BEVs have been registered, which is more than the whole 2017 year (622 registrations in total).

Used imports registrations are much more stable, with a growth of 6.7% over last year, to 48 units.

June is traditionally a very slow month for the Irish car market with just 1255 cars registered for the end of the 181 period. As with the rest of the semester, BEVs have been doing better than the average with 17 registrations (just 4 in June 2017) and 1.35% market share. 6 Nissan Leaf, 4 Tesla Model S and 3 Volkswagen E-Golf were sold last month.

Across the first semester a total of 529 BEVs were registered, which is a 41.4% progress over 2017 (171) and an all time record. 2017 was already a record year and saw 622 registrations (see 2017 best selling BEVs here), a level we’ll probably beat as early as July !

Another 55 used BEVs were imported last month, for a total of 335 for the first semester (+67.5% vs 2017). This means another 864 BEVs were added on the Irish roads during the period, bringing a total registrations of well over 3000 units.

PHEVs sales are still growing exponentially in May with 54 new registrations (+575% vs 2017). The Kia Niro PHEV is leading for the second consecutive month and 3rd year to date. Will it be the best selling Irish PHEV in 2018 ?

PHEVs market share is at 0.89% (0.49% to date)

Used imports are also steadily growing : 80 units were imported last month (+700% vs 2017). The Mitsubishi Outlander is almost making for 50% of all used imports PHEVs this year.

A total of 134 PHEVs were registered in May (792 to date in 2018, exactly the same as for BEVs).

Mini Countryman Cooper S E All 4

New Irish BEVs sales are again growing significantly in May : 88 units were registered during the month (+193.3% vs May 2017), the new Leaf still clearly leading the segment.

The market share is once again above 1% (1.45% exactly) and the BEVs share to date is 0.60%

Used imports are also up 118.7% (vs May 2017) with 70 units registered, mostly Nissan Leaf. Note that Tesla Model S imports are still going strong with 12 more units in May.

This brings the total number of BEVs imported to 280 cars so far this year (+69.7% vs 2017).

That is a total of 158 BEVs registered in May in Ireland, and 792 so far in 2018.

2018 Nissan Leaf XE

As for previous months, PHEV sales are extremely dynamic compared to last year, with 77 new cars sold (+670%) and  82 used cars imported (+583%) in April.

New PHEV account for 0.95% of the total car market, which added to the 1.75% market share for BEVs last month, can makes us think a shift is happening in people’s purchase habits : one every 37 new cars sold in April had a socket !

New sales are this month dominated by the new Kia Niro (29 units sold) whereas the Mitsubishi Outlander is still on top of the used imports.

For the first time ever, BEV sales have passed 1% share of the Irish car market (1.75% exactly). This is due not only to the growing demand of EVs but also to the deliveries of the new Leaf. It might be a peak due to backed up orders but the interest for the Leaf is great and sales will remain high, as long as the factory can supply cars ! At the European level, the order pace at the beginning of the year was 4000 units/month. In 2016, best year for the original Leaf, Nissan sold a bit more than 18.000 units of this model. I’ll let you do the maths 🙂 The other models are selling relatively well and if you add the 41 used imports, these are 182 more BEVs that landed on Irish roads last month.

PHEV new sales were still extremely active in March, growing 146.5% over last year. BMW is still leading with the 530e and 330e. Including the i3 Rex and the X5 xDrive40e, BMW owns almost half of this market.

On the used import front (+600% vs 2017!), note the massive influx of Outlanders, representing over half of all imports.

See below the new sales and used import figures for the month of March and the cumulative for the year.

BEV sales are growing 53.6% last month with a total of 106 new cars registered in March, meaning a 0.60% share of all sales. Deliveries of the new Leaf have just started, Tesla sales are still impressive considering the cost of these. Finally note the good performance of the E-Golf : 18 units sold in March ie the same as during the 2015-2017 period! On the first 3 months, the total is still negative compared to 2017 but this should turn around in April with hopefully more Leaf delivered.

Used imports are also growing, 30.4% this month, 74.2% since the beginning of the year.

This makes a total of 166 EVs registered in Ireland this month, 523 during the first quarter of the year.

PHEV new sales have been growing in February 61.7% over the same month last year, with is better than BEVs. BMW and Volvo are still holding the podium.

PHEV used imports are also very dynamic, growing 5 fold in February, after a similar performance last month. The Outlander PHEV is becoming very popular thanks to keen used prices in the UK (starts under £ 10,000 with a great choice around the £ 12,000 mark). Other models aren’t as strong as these have been launched more recently, ie dearer to import.

After a very disappointing month of January, BEV sales are this months up 18% compared to February 2017, on a stable car market. It means BEV market share went up, to 0,42%. PHEV sales on the other hand have grown 60+%!

Surprisingly, it’s not due to the deliveries of the Leaf, down 51% to just 14 units (hopefully new Leaf will start being delivered in March), but to the strength of the Ioniq (27 sales), Tesla S and X, but also E-Golf.

Who would have thought Tesla (19) could oversell Nissan (15) this month ?

On top of the 72 new BEVs sold in February, 30 more were imported as used, bringing a total of 102 extra EVs on Irish roads in February, and the total number of registered EVs to 3008 (since 2007)

Plug-in Hybrid sales have grown by 131% in January, compared to January last year. 109 PHEV cars were sold, accounting for 0.29% of the new car market. It is now above the short-supplied BEVs  that represent a low 0.27% of total sales. As you can see from the chart below most models are expensive premiums, nothing is available below € 30,000 ! Let’s not forget that the BMW 530e, leading the segment, is slightly cheaper than 530d or a 530i (with similar performance) making it a no brainer purchase for many interested in the 5-series.

Used imports are relatively rare but still on the rise with 68 units sold in January. For reference, 224 PHEVs were imported during the whole year 2017. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, that got quite popular in the UK during the past few years is leading the pack.

Ev sales are down a harsh 38% in January 2018 compared to January 2017, with only 104 sales of new cars, just 0.28% of the total market.

The best seller is still the Nissan Leaf with 54 sales. We are still talking about the previous model, probably the last stock. The Renault Zoé comes second with 15 registrations, which is low but quite good compared to its previous years performance. More disappointing are the 12 Ioniq sold, big drop after the 69 units sold in January last year. Is this a supply issue ?

If we have a look at the Irish market and other energies, total sales are down 4.8%. Importantly diesel market share collapses from 65% down to 57%, petrol goes from 30% to 36% and hybrids (without a plug) are going from 3.4% to an impressive 6.3% market share, showing the push from Toyota towards this powertrain.

Find in the chart below January EV sales

On the other hand, the imports of used EV is still on the rise, with 51 cars registered in January 2018 versus 21 only a year ago. Note the growing interest in the Tesla Model S, becoming relatively affordable in the UK.

See below used EV imports detail

After the best selling BEVs, this is the list of the 10 best selling new PHEVs in Ireland, for 2017. A total of 319 PHEVs were sold, with no less than 24 different models available (only 15 in 2016).

1. BMW 330e (111 units sold). Great success for this electrified variant of the 3-series that is getting over a third of the Irish PHEV market.

2. Volvo XC90 T8 (44)

3. BMW 530e (31)

4. Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (30). After so many hybrids over the years, thi is the first time we get a Toyota with a socket !

5. Mitsubishi Outlander (21) which however remains by far the most popular PHEV with 117 used imports in 2017 and a total of 250 cumulated registrations.

6. Porsche Cayenne (14)

7. Volkswagen Golf GTE (11)

8. Mini Countryman (10)

9. BMW i3 Rex (9), this year not as popular as her engine-less sister.

10. Volkswagen Passat GTE (7), that exists in saloon and estate variants.

Find the 10 best selling EVs below:

Best selling Irish EVs in 2017

Here is the list of the best selling EVs in Ireland, in 2017 (doesn’t include used imports nor PHEVs : for the latter, click here). A total of 622 new EVs have been sold during 2017, which makes this a record year. For total sales including imports and PHEVs, have a look here.

1. Nissan Leaf (257 units sold). Even if it is its last year of production, the favourite Irish EV kept its crown for another year.

2. Hyundai Ioniq Electric (231). It has proven to become quite popular, immediately.

3. Renault Zoé (57). Still relatively slow sales, but more than during the 3 previous years together ! The 40kwh battery and the demise of battery lease made a difference.

4. Tesla Model S (36). With the first (and only) Irish dealer, the luxury EV finally sells in double-digit numbers.

5. Tesla Model X (14). It’s the best selling Electric SUV in Ireland (it’s also the worse selling one)

6. BMW i3 (12). Awaiting for the facelift and the upcoming i3s version

7. Volkswagen E-Golf (10). It’s a Golf (so a good car) but an expensive one, and it struggles to compete with Leaf and Ioniq, whilst you can get a Premium i3 for barely more.

8. Nissan ENV-200 (3). The Leaf for the families, 24kwh battery pack. For 2018, the 40kwh battery pack will make this 5 to 7-seater much more attractive.

9. Renault Twizy (1). Unique, literally.

Looking into buying a new EV? Check out our buying guide:

http://www.irishevowners.ie/ordering-a-new-e…your-181-options/

And here is the list of current EVs available on the Irish market:

List of Electric Vehicles (BEVs) (updated 2018 / 181)

It’s now time to see if 2017 was a good year for EV sales in Ireland,

New EV sales (excluding PHEVs) went from 392 units in 2016 to 622 units in 2017. That’s a very good increase of 58% year on year (considering the overall market dipped 10% during the same period) but the overall market share is still low, 0.47%, which means that less than one car in 200 sold is an EV 🙁

2018 Tesla Model S

But there is a way to see it more positively.

It is indeed the best year ever for new EV sales but most of all used imports have increased even more. 486 used EV were imported in 2017, which is almost 3 times as much as last year (143)!

Now if you add new sales and used imports, you get a total of 1108 extra EVs on the Irish roads compared to a year earlier, which brings the total of EV registered from 1643 a bit over 2751 cars. Not too bad.

But wait, there is more !

Following the same trend, PHEV sales have gone up as well, from 298 to 319. Not as impressive as for EVs but let’s keep in mind that these cars are generally quite expensive premium models. Again, used imports make the difference, going from 35 units in 2016 to 224 in 2017 ! During the last year the fleet of Irish PHEVs more than doubled, raising from 470 to 1013!

Total cumulative registrations of cars with a plug went from 2113 to 3764 during the past 12 months … if you are an EV driver, you have noticed the increased queues at chargers, and these numbers show why.

And 2018 ?

We can expect further growth in 2018 :

• The new Leaf -Ireland’s favorite EV- is coming in Spring. 10000 orders have been made in Europe (without test drives), for the launch edition which shows a very strong interest so far. Late spring, it will be launched with the regular trims.
• Government incentives could accelerate that growth. If free M50 toll is brought, it will generate an important demand (new, used and imports)
• Cars like the Zoé and Ioniq are very popular in Europe and orders are backed up as the offer can’t meet the demand. If they production bottlenecks are addressed, sales could increase quickly.

2018 Nissan Leaf

68 PHEVs (58 petrol and 10 diesel) were sold in July in Ireland, which is a 200+% progress over the 21 units sold in July last year.

This Month BMW has registered no less than 44 PHEVs : i3 Rex, X5, 225Xe and most importantly 33 units of the new 330e. This 330e is helped by its very attractive price (from just over 40.000 euro) and if the BMW network wants to sell this over petrol/diesels, we can see a very bright future for this version.

Find below the complete list of PHEV sales for July (petrol in bold, diesel in italic).

BMW 330e

Source : Simi