The Electric Car segment is the fastest growing segment in Europe in the first half of 2014, almost doubling in size compared to the same period of last year, and increasing its share of the European car market to 0,35%, roughly in in every 285 cars. The growth of the EV segment is actually speeding up, as 2013 sales were up “just” 74% on 2012.
The Nissan Leaf compact hatchback remains on top with over 7.000 units in six months time, an increase of 56% on last year, which was already more than double its 2012 sales, meaning the Leaf is on track for another record year. It is followed by the Tesla Model S, which has managed to top the Norwegian sales chart (of all vehicles, not just EV’s) again in March of this year. This was the third time ever the Model S has outsold all other cars in Norway, after September and December 2013. The Model S is on track to become the second electric car to break the 10.000 annual units level in Europe, after the Leaf.
As I predicted in my 2013 EV sales analysis, the BMW i3 manages to claim a spot on the European podium, selling 4.721 electric cars in the first half of the year, surpassing the Renault Zoe, which surprisingly sees its sales already slow down 15% in only its second year of sales. This is a setback for Renault, which have invested heavily in the development of electric vehicles, and the Fluence Z.E. and Twizy electric quadricycle have also failed to reach their sales targets.
The Smart Fortwo Electric Drive stays relatively stable at -8%, still way ahead of another EV which is mostly used by car-sharing projects, the Bolloré Bluecar. Heavy discounting has kept the Citroën C-Zero, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Peugeot iOn triplets somewhat afloat after a fast decline last year, when they were down 75%, but the Renault Fluence Z.E. has been pulled from the market due to disappointing sales and will disappear from the top-1o by the end of the year.
The Renault Kangoo Z.E. Cargo van is not included in these statistics for being a commercial vehicle, but its first half sales of 2.205 are down 36% on the 3.446 units sold in the first six months of 2013.
New entrants from Volkswagen, the e-Up! and e-Golf will hit the market in the second half and should help the segment continue its strong and steady growth to possibly reach the 50.000 unit mark for 2014. Other new entrants include the Kia Soul EV and Audi A3 e-tron.
| ELECTRIC CAR | 2014-H1 | 2013-H1 | Change | |
| 1. | Nissan Leaf | 7.131 | 4.578 | 56% |
| 2. | Tesla Model S | 5.425 | 21 | new |
| 3. | BMW i3 | 4.721 | 126 | new |
| 4. | Renault Zoe | 3.612 | 4.236 | -15% |
| 5. | Smart Fortwo Electric Drive | 1.279 | 1.385 | -8% |
| 6. | Bolloré Bluecar | 531 | 258 | 106% |
| 7. | Citroën C-Zero | 465 | 417 | 12% |
| 8. | Mitsubishi i-MiEV | 341 | 492 | -31% |
| 9. | Peugeot iOn | 271 | 204 | 33% |
| 10. | Renault Fluence Z.E. | 58 | 146 | -60% |
| Segment total | 23.826 | 12.480 | 91% |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2013 and monthly sales in 2012 and 2013, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site.