Electric Car Sales = 33% Of All Car Sales In Norway (1st Half 2016)

Cars

Published on August 19th, 2016 | by James Ayre

August 19th, 2016 by James Ayre 

Originally published on EV Obsession.

Estimates for electric vehicle sales in Norway during the month of July 2016 were recently released by our friend over at the EV Sales blog, Jose Pontes.

Overall, the new sales figure estimates show pretty good growth — with 2,998 electric vehicles sold in total, making for a ~17% year-on-year growth rate. "Electric vehicles" in this case refers to any plug-in cars — all-electric cars (EVs) as well as plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs). (These numbers do not include electric bikes.)

That said, EV sales are actually down somewhat (-38%), while PHEV sales are up notably (+140%). So, while overall growth is strong, it appears that some potential buyers are now holding out on the purchase of an EV — presumably owing to the improved offerings that will appear on the market later this year (longer-range Nissan LEAF & BMW i3) and into 2017 (Chevy Bolt & Tesla Model 3).

→ Related: Norway EV & PHEV Driver Findings, Galore!

The overall plug-in car market made up 22% of new car registrations in Norway in July, and 33% for the year through July.

As far as individual model sales, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is still selling well despite the recent Mitsubishi fuel-economy scandal — with 504 units registered during the month.

Following fairly closely behind was the Volkswagen Golf GTE, with 412 units registered during the month in Norway. Then, in 3rd, was the Volkswagen Passat GTE (294 units), but you can see how close the models are from there on: In 4th was the Volkswagen e-Golf with 279 units sold; and in 5th the Nissan LEAF with 237.

Volkswagen is, of course, also still dealing with the aftermath of its own diesel emissions cheating scandal. Interesting that the top four spots are held by companies facing "PR" trouble. I guess that the Norwegians don't mind the deceptions?

Notably, July 2016 was the first time that the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV managed to nab the top spot in the mixed rankings (including petrol and diesel vehicles) — displacing the Volkswagen Golf GTE. So, perhaps some Norwegians are taking note of the Volkswagen scandal?

Also notable is that the Tesla Model S had its worst month in more than 1½ years. It's worst in 20 months, to be exact, with only 43 units registered, but it's hard to know if that relates to Tesla production, Tesla deliveries, or demand. It'll be interesting to see what Model X registrations look like later this year once deliveries pick up — that should tell us a lot about Tesla's immediate future in the country. Of course, the Model 3 launch there in ~2 years will tell us far, far more….

Model July 2016 YTD 2016 May Market Share 2016 Market Share Audi A3 e-Tron 170 1,283 6% 5% Audi Q7 e-Tron 68 70 2% 0% BMW 225xe Active Tourer 70 545 2% 2% BMW 330e 24 158 1% 1% BMW i3 98 1,203 3% 5% BMW X5 eDrive40e 34 672 1% 3% BMW i8 10 31 0% 0% Citröen Berlingo EV 2 11 0% 0% Citröen C-Zero 7 140 0% 1% Ford Focus Electric 1 22 0% 0% Kia Soul EV 102 751 3% 3% Mercedes B250e 104 865 3% 3% Mercedes C350e 74 539 2% 2% Mercedes GLC350e 59 363 2% 1% Mercedes GLE500e 15 120 1% 0% Mercedes S500e 0 4 0% 0% Mitsubishi i-MiEV 22 146 1% 1% Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 504 3,347 17% 13% Nissan Leaf 237 2,829 8% 11% Nissan e-NV200 76 482 3% 2% Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid 3 78 0% 0% Peugeot iOn 8 199 0% 1% Peugeot Partner EV 7 80 0% 0% Renault Kangoo ZE 0 73 0% 0% Renault Twizy 0 5 0% 0% Renault Zoe 79 1,309 3% 5% Smart Electric Drive 1 32 0% 0% Tesla Model S 43 1,284 1% 5% Tesla Model X 23 30 1% 0% Volvo XC90 T8 77 501 3% 2% Volvo V60 PHEV 51 511 2% 2% VW e-Golf 279 3,138 9% 12% VW e-Up! 44 667 1% 3% VW Golf GTE 412 2,507 14% 10% VW Passat GTE 294 1,458 10% 6% Total 2,998 25,453 100% 100% PHEV Total 1,865 12,187 62% 48% 100% Electric Total 1,133 13,266 38% 52%

Photos by Kyle Field | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), via CleanTechnica.pics; Zachary Shahan | EV Obsession | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), via CleanTechnica.pics; and Volkswagen

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Tags: audi, Audi A3 e-tron, BMW, BMW 225xe Active Tourer, BMW 330e, BMW i3, bmw i8, BMW X5 xDrive 40e, Citroen, Citroen Berlingo EV, Citroen C-Zero, daimler, EV sales, Ford, ford focus electric, July 2016, kia, Kia Soul EV, Mercedes, Mercedes B250e, Mercedes C350e, Mercedes GLC350e, Mercedes GLE500e, Mercedes S 500e, Mercedes S500e, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug In Hybrid, Nissan, nissan e-NV200, Nissan Leaf, norway, Norway Electric Cars, norway electric sales July 2016, norway electric vehicles, Peugeot, peugeot ion, Peugeot Partner EV, Porsche, Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, renault, Renault Kangoo ZE, Renault Twizy, renault zoe, Smart Electric Drive, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Toyota, Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, volkswagen, volkswagen e up!, Volkswagen e-Golf, Volkswagen Golf GTE, Volkswagen Passat GTE, volvo, Volvo V60 T8, Volvo XC90 T8

About the Author

James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.

Source: Electric Car Sales = 33% Of All Car Sales In Norway (1st Half 2016)