VW takes H1 EV lead in Europe; Tesla Model 3 top-seller; Renault, Nissan stumble

Volkswagen Group became Europe’s leading supplier of electric cars in the first half of the year, beating Stellantis and Tesla, as buyers turned to new models such as the VW ID4 SUV.

The runaway best-selling model over the period, however, was the Tesla Model 3, with 66,734 sales, more than double the second-placed VW ID3.

Strong growth boosted EV registrations 124 percent to 483,304 units in the half, according to data for 18 western Europe countries compiled by Berlin-based EV market analyst Matthias Schmidt.

The growth was largely driven by Germany, now Europe’s largest EV market by sales, after the country’s market share of full-electric cars expanded to 11 percent from 3.7 percent during the same period last year.

Germany accounted for 31 percent of all electric cars sold across western Europe at 148,716 over the period.

Germany gains

Germany’s EV sales jump, which is partially due to generous purchase incentives, helped VW Group establish itself as the European market leader.

The automaker recorded 122,545 registrations in western Europe during the first half, putting VW Group ahead of Stellantis with 76,877.
In the first seven months of the year, VW Group had registered 41,724 full-electric vehicles in Germany, according to data from the KBA, the country’s transportation authority.

The ID3 was also the No. 2-selling car through July, finishing behind the Model 3 across the wider European region, according to figures from market researcher JATO Dynamics. The Renault Zoe was third followed by the ID4 and the Hyundai Kona Electric.

After the ID3 and ID4, the highest new entry into the top 10 was the Fiat New 500 at No. 8. The success of the electric minicar was driven partly by sales in Italy, where it accounted for a fifth of the country’s EV volume in the first half, according to data from Schmidt.

Market pioneers lose ground

The pace of new model launches has affected several electric pioneers. Renault, for example, saw its share of the EV market drop to 8.5 percent from 17 percent in the first half of 2020 as the Zoe was pushed to third place after topping EV sales in 2020.

Nissan, once Europe’s market leader with the Leaf, slipped down to being the region’s 12th largest EV brand during the half, the figures show, with a share of 3.4 percent, down from 6 percent.

Nissan was beaten by newcomers such as Skoda, which recorded the 12th best-selling EV over the period with the Enyaq iV, and Opel/Vauxhall, which sells the Corsa-e small electric car and the Mokka-e small electric SUV.

Nissan plans to replace the Leaf with a more market-relevant small electric SUV and will sell the larger Ariya SUV, expected next year, but the company’s reduction in EV status meant the share of electric vehicles sold by Japan’s automakers were just 4.5 percent for the period, down from 6.1 percent the same period the year before, with sales of 21,621 for the period.

Toyota’s only electric car, the Lexus UX300e, had a slow start with just 1,083 sales, while the Honda e minicar remains a niche product with sales of 1,255.

After the Leaf, the Mazda MX-30 was the No. 2-selling EV from a Japanese brand with a volume of 3,580 for the period.

Chinese make their move

Japan is being caught fast by China, whose automakers registered 17,684 EVs for a share of 3.7 percent, up from 1.8 percent for the same period last year.

Volvo Car and its Polestar subsidiary topped the Chinese brands, followed by SAIC’s MG division. However other Chinese brands are looking to break through, with EV-friendly Norway a popular market to debut in Europe.

In the first half, Xpeng registered 234 of its G3 SUVs in Norway, while Aiways sold 436 of the U5 SUV there. Maxus, another SAIC brand, meanwhile sold 225 of the Euniq 5 seven-seat minivan.

Other EV brands looking to make an entrance into Europe soon include BYD, Nio and Great Wall’s Wey and Ora subsidiaries.

In Norway, one out of every 10 EV sold in the first half was Chinese, data from Schmidt showed.

“Rather than competing to gain market share in the total car market across all fuels, Chinese automakers are homing-in on the BEV [battery-electric vehicle] market, where there are arguably fewer barriers to entry,” Schmidt wrote in a report published in July.

The numbers are small, so far, but the success of MG underlines fears expressed last year by Renault Group Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, who told French lawmakers that European automakers were under threat from Chinese companies importing good-value EVs into Norway and elsewhere in Europe. https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/renault-sees-growing-threat-imports-chinese-evs

MG’s total EV sales reached 9,366 for the first half, giving it a 1.9 percent share of the EV market in western Europe. That put it ahead of automakers such as Ford, Jaguar and Citroen.

Green SUVs in demand

Another trend emerging is the increasing importance of full-electric SUVs. In July, SUVs accounted for half of all EV sales in western Europe for the first time, according to Schmidt’s data.

Models such as the ID4 and the Hyundai Kona Electric are displacing electric hatchbacks and sedans and more models with an SUV body style are in the pipeline.

The biggest launch this year will be the Tesla Model Y SUV, examples of which are already coming from Tesla’s Shanghai factory ahead of the automaker’s Berlin plant opening, scheduled for later this year.

The Model Y was Norway’s best-selling car outright in August, its first month on sale there, according to data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV).

Schmidt predicts EV sales will surpass 1 million across western Europe this year as more models are launched and supply constrained by the shortage of semiconductors eases.