Markets Roundup Full Year 2012

Fisker Karma in Monaco

With most of 2012 data in, it's time for a roundup on some EV markets:

- The three countries with highest EV share are Norway (No surprises here) with 3,09%, followed by Estonia (Thanks to Mitsubishi) at 2,35% and finally in third there's the Netherlands with 0,98%;

- The Renault Twizy was #1 in eight countries, hitting a sweet spot in Central and Southern Europe;

- Renault sold some 600 units of the Fluence ZE in Israel, included in the Better Place battery swapping project and at 0,37% share it was not a bad start, but the question is if in 2013 they will resist the black hole that is becoming the Better Place deal;

- Nissan has sold 89 units of the Nissan Leaf in Hong Kong, meaning that Nissan sold more Leaf's there than in the whole of China;

- Where else in the world other than Monaco would the Fisker Karma be a best seller? That's right, the Cadillac Escalade of the  Plug-In market was the second best selling electric vehicle in Monaco, just behind the Renault Twizy. With this in mind, i'm assuming that Tesla will be the best seller this year;

- As proof that the EV market is a fast changing market, Finland had three different leaders in the last three years, starting with the Think City in 2010, followed in '11 by the Citröen C-Zero and the Nissan Leaf last year;

- The I-Miev family has a thing for finding new markets for electric cars and losing them for others in the following years, for example the Mitsubishi I-Miev started the EV market in 2009 in it's home market, being the best selling electric model that year and in 2010, before losing the crown to the Leaf in 2011.  The same thing happened in Germany (#1 in 2010 and 2011, #3 in 2012), Spain (#1 in 2011, #9 in 2012), Switzerland (#1 in 2010 and 2011, #4 in 2012), Monaco (#1 in 2011, #6 in 2012) and Ireland (#1 in 2010, #4 in 2011 and 2012). In 2012 the I-Miev family started to sell cars in new markets like  the Czech Republic (78 units), Iceland (9), Poland (13) and Colombia (28). It remains to be seen in 2013 how many of these will still crown a I-Miev member as best seller...

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.