Automotive
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| Nissan Leaf is charging up |
Nissan Leaf Superstar II
July was a good month for the Nissan Leaf, that benefited from decreasing sales from its main competitors (Volt and Zoe) to collect/recover seven(!) new trophies (USA, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Iceland and Poland) to the ones it had last month (Japan, Norway, UK, Italy, Ireland and Estonia), making it 13 countries where the Nissan Leaf was #1 in July, justifying its "World Best Selling Electric Car" banner.
By the way, looking by continents, we can see the Leaf dominating the Asian market and fighting for #1 both in Europe and in the Americas, making it a true global car.
Plug-In Hybrids feel better in the cold
An interesting fact i've come to realize is that PHEV's are more successful in cold climates, if we take in measure countries where Plug-in hybrids have highest share (Netherlands 76%; Finland 74%; Sweden 69%; Canada 59%; Iceland 54%), we realize that ice and snow are a winter common sight in all of them, so it could be a case that consumers prefer to be secured by an ICE engine to offset the range decrease in the coldest days.
Trends in the G7
In the US market the aforementioned Nissan Leaf jumped to #1 both on the monthly and YTD chart, but the Chevy Volt just behind by 60 units in the YTD ranking, so a lot can still happen here.
Looking at EV shares, the only country in the downward trend is Japan, still suffering from Mitsubishi's problems, its EV share it's now at 0,74%, down 0,03% from the 0,77% share it had in 2012.
Germany registered the best sales month (633 units) since last September and with the german brands launching in the coming months their first entries in this segment, one can only expect that sales will go up.
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| BMW has high hopes for it's small i3 |
Mentioning countries making their first steps into electric mobility, Poland(1) registered 5 Nissan Leaf's this month, making a total of 6 this year and Iceland(2) registered 4 Leaf's, summing up to 9 this year.
(1) - Poland '13 EV Ranking: Leaf 6 units; Ampera 2; Fortwo ED 1.
(2) - Iceland '13 EV Ranking: Leaf and Prius Plug-In 9 units; Volt and C-Zero 3; Ampera 2.
Questions for August
Who will be the US #1?
Who will be the best selling compliance car?
Who will be #1 in Canada?
Will the Zoe recover?
Will Germany have a new leader?
In which european country will the Tesla Model S perform better?
