Portugal December 2014

"Oh Sunny Day...."

BMW i3 Triumphs in Record Year Edition

There were 39 EV's sold last December, mounting the full year sales numbers to 362 units, a 39% improvement over the previous record, placing the EV Share at 0,25%, not that far away from last year performance (0,23%), but this apparent inconsistency is explained by the two digit growth of the general market.

Looking at the models ranking, the BMW i3 is the new Sales Darling, succeding two Renault-Nissan Alliance cars (Leaf in 2010 & 2011, Twizy in 2012 and 2013) on the Top Spot, this is a remarkable performance, considering that the BMW i-Line is only sold in two dealerships (Lisbon and Porto), which makes me think that they appeal to urban consumers, that wish the latest cool stuff. Yes, electric cars are beggining to be cool and not just some weird thing that only tech nerds and tree huggers love...

The Nissan Leaf dropped to the YTD Second Place, with 60 units, with the Renault Twizy in Third, while in #4 we have a surprise, with the Mitsu Outlander PHEV registering an impressive performance, the best ever for a Plug-In Hybrid, with 39 units and 11% share. This year PHEV's have grown significantly in Portugal, with their share now at 25%, when in the previous year they had only 9%.

Looking at LCV's, the Nissan e-NV200 managed to tie with the chronical leader Renault Kangoo ZE, both with 12 units. With Nissan actively promoting the Evalia / e-NV200, Renault will have to react if it wants to keep the leadership in this market niche.

In the manufacturers ranking, Renault (25% Share) revalidated the Best-Seller title, just edging out BMW (24%) in Second, while Nissan stayed in #3, although not too far behind the top two, with 20% Share.

Pl	Portugal	Dec.	2014	%	Pl '13
1	BMW i3	4	72	20	7
2	Nissan Leaf	4	60	17	3
3 4	Renault Twizy Mit. Outlander PHEV	3 5	44 39	12 11	1 N/A
5	Renault Zoe	7	34	9	5
6 7 8 8 8 11 12 13 14 15 15 15 18 18 20 20 20	Smart Fortwo ED BMW i8 Porsche Panamera Plug-In Nissan e-NV200 Renault Kangoo ZE Volkswagen e-Up! Toyota Prius Plug-In Porsche Cayenne Plug-In Volvo V60 Plug-In Volkswagen e-Golf Mitsubishi I-Miev Porsche 918 Opel Ampera Peugeot Partner EV Citroen Berlingo EV Peugeot iOn Kia Soul EV	1 3 4 4 1 2 1	17 13 12 12 12 10 9 7 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1	5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0	6 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 9 N/A 8 N/A N/A 2 N/A
	TOTAL	39	362	100

Source: ACAP

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Portugal October 2014

"Oh Sunny Day...."

Better Days Edition

There were some 25 EV's sold last month in Portugal, placing the EV Share at 0,22%, a smidge below last year performance (0,23%), but the 266 units sold this year are already a record number for this small EV market.

"So why isn't the EV Share higher?" - One might ask.

The answer lies in the recovery of the Portuguese Auto Market, with growth rates at some 40-50%, following the electric segment growth.

Looking at the models ranking, the Nissan Leaf recovered a bit, selling 9 units, cementing the YTD Second Place, while the BMW i8 registered 4 units, an impressive result, which becomes even more amazing if we consider that the smaller i3 only sold one unit and those four units allowed it to be #2 in October.

The Renault Twizy also outsold the Zoe (4 vs 2), while the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV had 26 confirmed registered units until last September, so i will make an estimate of another 4 units in October, making 30 sales YTD and 11% share of the EV market, a fantastic result for a PHEV in Portugal, considering that last year ALL PHEV's had only 9% share.

With PHEV's finally being granted fiscal benefits in 2015, it wouldn't be surprising if the Japanese SUV became a serious fighter for the Best Seller title next year and plug-in hybrids as a whole expanded significantly their current 25% share of the market.

In the manufacturers ranking, Renault (35% Share) kicked BMW (27%) from the Top Spot, while Nissan continues in #3, with 18% Share.

Pl	Portugal	Oct.	2014	%	Pl '13
1	BMW i3	1	60	23	7
2	Nissan Leaf	9	49	18	3
3 4	Renault Twizy Mit. Outlander PHEV e)	4 4	41 30	15 11	1 N/A
5	Renault Zoe	2	22	8	5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15	Smart Fortwo ED Porsche Panamera Plug-In BMW i8 Toyota Prius Plug-In Volkswagen e-Up! Mitsubishi I-Miev Opel Ampera Volvo V60 Plug-In Volkswagen e-Golf Peugeot iOn	4 1	17 12 11 9 6 3 2 2 1 1	6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 0 0	6 N/A N/A N/A N/A 9 8 N/A N/A 2
	TOTAL	25	266	100

Source: Best Selling Cars Blog; ACAP

e) Estimate

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Portugal June 2014

Summer Festivals are always Fun

BMW All The Way Edition

BMW is back at #1 in the portuguese EV ranking, after selling 11 units in June, its best performance to date, ending the first half of the year with 43 units sold.

In #2 we have the Nissan Leaf, with 25 sales this year and third there's the Renault Zoe, selling 16 units, looking to beat last year performance of 22 units sold during the whole year.

This month marks the landing of the Outlander PHEV, it will be interesting to see if the japanese SUV will succeed in this predominantly BEV market.

In manufacturers ranking, BMW moved away from the competition, leading the race with 41% share, followed by Renault with 28% and Nissan, with 24%.

Pl	Portugal	June	2014	%	Pl '13
1	BMW i3	11	43	41	7
2	Nissan Leaf	1	25	24	3
3	Renault Zoe	2	16	15	5
4	Renault Twizy		12	12	1
5 6 7 8	Smart Fortwo ED Opel Ampera Mitsubishi I-Miev Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	1	4 2 1 1	4 2 1 1	6 8 9 N/A
	TOTAL	15	104	100

Source: Best Selling Cars Blog

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Portugal March 2014

BMW i sub-brand is doing great in Portugal

Leaf is Back Edition

After more than two years(!) away from the leadership, the Nissan Leaf is back at #1 in the portuguese YTD EV ranking, after selling 13 units in March, its best monthly performance since...2011.

But the leadership came with company, as BMW also has 19 sales of its hot hatch i3, the bavarians are really pushing sales of the little car and it wouldn't be a surprise if the Bimmer came First by the end of the year.

In third came the Renault Zoe, selling 8 units, its personal best score in Portugal. By the way, in a general market up 47% year-on-year, the 29 plug-ins sold in March aren't that much of a big deal, as seen in the YTD EV Share at 0,18%, still three tenths behind last year (0,21%).

An entertaining fact is that the three top manufacturers are separated by just 2% share, with Nissan and BMW tied in #1 with 33% share and just behind we have Renault in Third with 31%, it will be an entertaining race to see between these three...

Pl	Portugal	March	2014	%	Pl '13
1	Nissan Leaf	13	19	33	3
2	BMW i3	3	19	33	7
3	Renault Zoe	8	13	22	5
4	Renault Twizy	4	5	9	1
5	Opel Ampera	1	2	3	8
	TOTAL	29	58	100

Source: Best Selling Cars Blog

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Portugal December 2013

Twizy continues to be #1 in Portugal

Back Out of Hell Edition

In 2011 portuguese EV sales mounted to 210 units, which was more than countries like Sweden or Italy and was placing Portugal on the forefront of the EV (re)evolution, but then in 2012 fiscal incentives ended and the market plunged to 161 units when others grew exponentially. 

2013 started like the year before, but then during the summer a number of fleet deals and increased private demand pushed sales up, ending the year with 224 units sold, 39% above last year and 7% above the '11 hallmark.

In the models ranking, the Renault Twizy won again the Best Selling crown, followed by the Peugeot iOn which benefited from fleet sales to reach #2, just 8 units behind the leader.

The Nissan Leaf (38 units sold) ended in Third and the Renault Fluence ZE in #4, 

The BMW i3 ended in #7, but in 2014 it will be one of the main candidates at the Best Seller Title, just like the VW e-Up!

Pl	Portugal	Dec.	2013	%	Pl '12
1	Renault Twizy	4	50	22	1
2	Peugeot iOn		42	19	8
3	Nissan Leaf	3	38	17	3
4	Renault Fluence ZE		32	14	6
5	Renault Zoe	2	22	10	N/A
6 7 8 9	Smart Fortwo ED BMW i3 Opel Ampera Mitsubishi I-Miev	3 1	21 10 7 2	9 4 3 1	2 5 N/A 7
	TOTAL	13	224	100

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Source: Best Selling Cars Blog; Manufacturers

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Portugal October 2013

The new EV leader in Portugal?

BMW i3 Joins the Party Edition

The October Portuguese sales data came almost in the end of November, showing that EV's are growing 55% regarding last year, and with YTD sales at 203 units, it looks like the 2011 sales record (210 units) will be beaten, a major feat considering that unlike in '11, now there aren't any incentives to buy EV's. All this translates in a not-too-shabby 0,23% share, better than the neighboring Spain (0,14%) or the UK (0,19%), for that matter.

In the models ranking, lots of changes in a fairly fragmented market, the Renault Twizy recovers the Best Selling crown over the Peugeot iOn, with 5 units sold in October and mounting to 46 units this year and 23% share.

The Nissan Leaf (3 units sold in October) also recovers the Third spot from the Renault Fluence ZE, while the BMW i3 lands the portuguese market with 4 units sold, a significant number considering the small dimension of the portuguese EV market and the fact that these are only demonstration units.

BMW is marketing heavily the BMW i3 and considering the soft spot that the portuguese have for german cars, it wouldn't be a surprise if the bavarian hatch would lead this market in the next months...

Pl	Portugal	Oct.	YTD	%	Pl '12
1	Renault Twizy	5	46	23	1
2	Peugeot iOn		42	21	8
3	Nissan Leaf	3	33	16	3
4	Renault Fluence ZE		32	16	6
5	Smart Fortwo ED		21	10	2
6 7 8 9	Renault Zoe Opel Ampera BMW i3 Mitsubishi I-Miev	2 4	18 5 4 2	9 2 2 1	N/A 5 N/A 7
	TOTAL	14	203	100

Source: Best Selling Cars Blog; Manufacturers

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Portugal May 2013

Two black Twizy's by the seaside

Renault 1-2-3 Edition

I've got the portuguese sales data with a month delay and despite the economic crisis, EV's are up 67% regarding last year, with the 21 units sold in May being the best performance since September '12 and making the EV share rise to 0,18%.

In the models ranking, May almost recorded  a 1-2-3 podium for Renault, with the Twizy in #1 and 9 units sold, Zoe second with 4 units and in third place the Fluence ZE is tied with the Nissan Leaf with 3 units sold.

In the YTD ranking at the moment there aren't changes in the podium regarding '12, but the Zoe should climb into the Top 3 in the next months.

Pl	Portugal	May	YTD	%	Pl '12
1	Renault Twizy	9	27	36	1
2	Smart Fortwo ED	2	16	22	2
3	Nissan Leaf	3	12	16	3
4	Renault Fluence ZE	3	12	16	6
5	Renault Zoe	4	6	8	N/A
6	Mitsubishi I-Miev		1	1	7
	TOTAL	21	74	100

Source: abola.pt; Manufacturers

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Where's Wally? - Looking for EV's in Portugal

Renault Twizy in Óbidos, Portugal

One thing is compiling numbers of electric car sales, another is to see them live in the middle of traffic and see how and where they interact with the remaining vehicles, so i've written this post to illustrate how EV's stand in Portugal, my home country.

Renault Twizy - Last year's best seller, this quirky vehicle draws as much attention as a Lambo, so it's easy to say that this isn't for everyone, and with a limited range of 80 - 100 kms it's clear where it is aimed: Megacities, in this case, Lisbon, where they start to appear here and there. Outside the nation's capital i've seen four red Twizy's parked just outside Óbidos, an historic village 90 kms north of Lisbon, belonging to a company called Zero CO2 Tours, a rental company focused in promoting the surrounding area through tours and other services using EV's. Interesting, eh?

Police Leaf and its civilian brother

Nissan Leaf - With more than 120 units sold, this is the most widespread electric car in Portugal and the only to be seen outside major cities. Supported by the government at the time of launch with some units, like the one on the picture above, being bought by public institutions, this was the model that suffered the most with the end in 2012 of the 5.000 € electric car subsidy, this is why most Leaf's here are from 2011. On a side note, this is a car favored by females, as most drivers i saw in them were women.

Oh the irony: One 2011 electric car in front of a 1900's electric tram

Mitsubishi I-Miev family(1) - The japanese firm did a lot to publicize EV's to private buyers in early 2011, reason why these are seen in cities where greenies and new tech addicts live. The age and driving habits vary a lot with these models, for example i saw a retired men driving one at 40 kms/h in a clear two lane street in Aveiro, but in Coimbra i also saw a college guy driving a C-Zero like a hooligan and passing everyone it could in a crowded street, back then i remember thinking: "This guy must be thinking he's driving a Porsche 911".

Two Smart ED's parked outside a Mercedes exposition center

Smart Fortwo ED - The only electric car to register a sales growth in 2012, the tiny Smart ED is bought mainly by companies willing to have a green halo or municipalities. At first seen only in Lisbon, now is starting to spread to big cities in the north like Oporto or Braga.

Others - The remaining models sold have symbolic presence, the few Chevy Volts, Opel Amperas and Prii Plug-In i saw were demonstration cars, so Plug-In Hybrids still have a long way to go to make their presence felt here.


(1) - Includes Peugeot iOn and Citröen C-Zero

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Portugal Full Year 2012

Smart Fortwo ED

While other markets see their EV numbers double or triple their sales, Portugal saw a 24% drop to 161 units, making it the only market where EV sales were down, this is thanks to the end of the 5.000€ fiscal benefit and the economic crisis that has been ravaging the country.

As in other southern european countries, the Renault Twizy won the #1 spot, succeeding to the Nissan Leaf, which dropped to #3 with just 15 cars sold, down from 101 in 2011.

Second place was for the Smart Fortwo ED, the best ranking in the world for the small two seater and just one of two models to grow sales from last year (The other was the Kangoo ZE), from 14 to 19 units.

Portugal	2012	%
Renault Twizy	71	44
Smart Fortwo ED	19	12
Nissan Leaf	15	9
Renault Kangoo ZE	13	8
Opel Ampera	12	7
Renault Fluence ZE	11	7
Mitsubishi I-Miev	9	6
Peugeot iOn	6	4
Citröen C-Zero	5	3
TOTAL	161	100

Source: Auto Hoje; Manufacturers

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Other Markets November 2012

This post highlights some curious facts about other EV markets:

- This year it has been sold more EV's (106.000) than in all previous years together (80.000);

- The markets with smaller or negative growth rates are Denmark (+29%), Japan (+4%) and Portugal (-54%). The portuguese negative growth is justified by the end of the 5.000€ government incentive given to EV's;

- Despite government interest and incentives in this kind of cars, EV's represent just 0,018% of the auto market in China, only in Australia there's a lower market share (0,008%) for electric cars;

- The UK market is fragmented, with the top three makers separated by only 23 units (Renault - 563 units, Nissan - 547, Vauxhall - 540);

- Chevrolet Volt has a whopping 73% share of all electric cars in Canada, with 1.168 units;

- Israel, Hong Kong and Estonia EV market are represented by only one model, respectably the Renault Fluence ZE (Included in the Better Place deal), Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi I-Miev (Bought by the Estonian government);

- The Volt family has the top spot in three countries (USA, Netherlands, Canada);

-  Renault's Twizy quadricycle is #1 in six countries (Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Portugal), just like the LCV Kangoo ZE in its home market (France) and the Fluence ZE in Denmark and Ireland;

- The Nissan Leaf is number one in three markets (Norway, Australia, Finland);

- The BYD E6 insures a number one spot in its home market (China);

- Finally, the Prius Plug-In wins at home (Japan) and in Sweden;

- Splitting sales by regional areas, GM dominates the Americas with almost half of the market, just like Toyota does in Asia and Europe is Renault's turf, with a 42% market share, thanks mostly to the Twizy, the best selling vehicle there, where one in four electric vehicles is a Twizy. 

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