40K Magic
The French EV market had some 4.000 registrations last month, up 21% YoY, all thanks to the Renault Zoe, which was also up 21%, proving that the French EV market dances to the Zoe tune, all it took was some 40k(Wh) Magic for the market to go up, now all Renault has to do is ask Bruno Mars to update their video, 24k is so passé, the new hit is 40k...
Looking at the 2016 numbers, registrations were up 28% to a record 34.574 units, with the EV Share ending at 1.7%, above the 1.4% of 2015.
Looking at the monthly models ranking, besides the Renault Zoe 40 kWh-fueled surge (1.909 units, a new all-time record for a single model), the surprise was the Fifth Place of the Tesla Model S, with 120 units, up 24% YoY, it seems in France the Model S is not suffering with the Model X arrival, or is it the other way around, is Tesla new (big) baby just not warming up French hearts the same way its older brother does?
Pl
Model
Sales
1
Renault Zoe
1.909
2
Nissan Leaf
314
3
Renault Kangoo ZE
140
4
BMW i3
135
5
Tesla Model S
120
Looking at the YTD ranking, the Renault Zoe ended the year on top for the fourth time in a row, with a record 11.648 units (A new record) and 34% share, followed by the Nissan Leaf (3.887 units, new personal best), earning its first Silver Medal, while the Renault Kangoo ZE ended in Third, with 2.485 units, its worst result since 2011.
The last minute changes occurred in #7, with the Kia Soul EV outrunning the Bolloré Blue Car, while the Tesla Model S climbed to #9, followed by the Volvo XC90 in #10 and Citroen C-Zero in #11.
The Nissan e-NV200/Evalia twins also climbed to #15, while three newcomers are making themselves noticed, with the #31 Hyundai Ioniq Electric and #32 Tesla Model X showing up on the radar, but the big climber was the Mercedes GLC350e (102 units, Best Selling PHEV in December), jumping five positions to #25, tied with its C350e relative. It is interesting that the SUV needed half of the time to reach the same 241 units as the C350e. As Prince once sang: "Sign o' the Times".
The Best Selling PHEV in 2016 was the #6 VW Golf GTE, repeating the 2015 title, but with a lot less units (1.060 now vs 1.687 then), and dropping two positions in the ranking, in a stable market, the Rookie of the Year was only #10, with the Volvo XC90 T8 (742 units) succeeding the aforementioned Golf GTE, while also collecting the Best Selling SUV title.
The Peugeot iOn did a surprising performance in 2016, ending the year in #5 with 1.196 units, its best result since 2012, when it was Fourth with 1.429 units, while also collecting the Best Selling City Car title.
In the brands ranking, Renault (42%) won easily the 2016 title, its fifth consecutive year in the lead, followed at a distance by Nissan (13%) and BMW (8%), the first time the German carmaker wins a podium seat in France.
In the breakdown between BEV's and PHEV's, 2016 remained stable regarding the previous year, with PHEV's at 18%, the same as 2015, making this market one of the few beacons of light for BEV's, in a PHEV-obsessed Europe.
Pl
France
Dec.
2016
%
'15Pl
1
Renault Zoe
1.909
11.648
34
1
2
Nissan Leaf
314
3.887
11
3
3
Renault Kangoo ZE
140
2.485
7
2
4
BMW i3
135
1.347
4
8
5
Peugeot iOn
95
1.196
3
9
6
Volkswagen Golf GTE
45
1.060
3
4
7
Kia Soul EV
89
992
3
13
8
Bolloré Blue Car
2
944
3
5
9
10
11
12
Tesla Model S
Volvo XC90 T8
Citröen C-Zero
Audi A3 e-Tron
120
49
71
62
793
742
723
659
2
2
2
2
10
N/A
15
6
13
BMW X5 40e
49
618
2
20
14
Renault Twizy e)
20
522
2
11
15
16
17
Nissan e-NV200/Evalia *
Porsche Cayenne PHEV
Goupil
67
78
61
521
507
502
2
1
1
16
12
14
18
19
BMW 225xe Active Tourer
Citröen e-Mehari
44
13
497
487
1
1
N/A
N/A
20
21
22
23
24
25
25
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Volkswagen Passat GTE
Peugeot Partner EV
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
BMW 330e
Citröen Berlingo EV
Mercedes C350e
Mercedes GLC350e
Volkswagen e-Up!
Audi Q7 e-Tron
Bolloré Blue Summer
Kia Optima PHEV
Hyundai Ioniq Electric
Tesla Model X
Mercedes GLE500e
Mitsubishi I-Miev
Volkswagen e-Golf
Others
56
54
57
20
42
18
102
17
25
6
60
70
17
9
2
54
481
441
329
316
271
241
241
211
192
189
168
153
151
125
100
92
743
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
19
21
7
N/A
23
27
N/A
18
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
31
30
22
TOTAL
3.992
34.574
* - 18 Pass + 49 LCV included
Source: Avere France