RegGuheert said:
GRA said:
The XC 90 T8 is a luxury vehicle as is the V60 PHEV, as is the X5 xdrive40e, as will be forthcoming PHEV offerings from Audi/Mercedes etc. Not forgetting the i8, Panamera and Cayenne (and 918 if we want to get really silly). And the A3-Etron and i3 REx are at the lower end of the luxury scale, and they've been selling well also - see http://insideevs.com/plug-in-hybrid-sales-to-surpass-conventional-hybrids-in-europe-by-2019/
Are any of these PHEV luxury vehicles outselling the Tesla Model S?
Depends on the country, and the incentives/perks. The Netherlands had a big incentive for PHEVs for a while, and IIRR a lesser one for BEVs, so PHEVs were selling really well (which is what catapulted the Outlander to the head of the PHEV sales chart in Europe), and the V60 was also pretty successful. Norway, OTOH, really subsidizes BEVs. The sales trend for both BEVs and PHEVs in Europe is upwards, but PHEVs are (currently, at least) accelerating at a faster pace.
It will be interesting to see how the Model S does in Germany versus cars like the S500 PHEV and the 740e xDrive once they are established. The latter remain much better suited to high-speed autobahn cruising than the S, although the changes to cooling should improve the power-limiting issue that's been a problem at sustained high power draws. But the range at speed still isn't there for the Model S, so I don't see it being able to capture a large share of that market. What remains to be seen is if the people who can afford an S550 or 740e will even bother with the PHEV version: operating costs are an irrelevance to this crowd, so they've got to be motivated by some performance characteristic or green ideology, and if the latter were of great importance to them they wouldn't be buying _any_ of these cars. As it was, the most recent data I've been able to find for Germany, 1/1- 6/30/15, shows the A3 e-tron leading the Model S in sales, although given the price difference that's not all that surprising. OTOH, the Model S lead the field in June, ahead of all other PEVs.
Anyway, here's the most recent data I could find for European PEV sales, for May and YTD through June. It also has breakdowns by country for the Netherlands, France, Germany and Norway, but note that all these numbers are pulled together from different sources, so expect there to be some variation from actual totals: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/16/europe-electric-car-sales-outlander-phev-1-leaf-2-zoe-3/
The Outlander was #1 Europe-wide YTD through May, but the more interesting info is in the country by country breakdowns, which show considerable shifts between both models and PHEV/BEV splits, presumably depending on both varying incentives and local conditions - in the Netherlands, YTD through June PHEVs take 6 of the top 7 spots (the Model S comes in 5th, ahead of the 350e and behind the V60), while looking just at June the Model S remains in 5th place, but the 350e and V60 swap places.
Germany as mentioned above, but here's August data: http://evobsession.com/kia-soul-ev-takes-1-in-germany/
The Soul EV jumps into #1, but YTD it's PHEVs in #1-#4 A3 e-tron is #3; the i3 is #4, so no telling the BEV/PHEV breakdown there), followed by the Soul and the Model S.
In France, 'affordable' BEVs dominate in June, but PHEVs are moving up as less expensive models (GTE etc.) become available. In Norway, BEVs dominate, with the e-Golf heading the list followed by the Model S. PHEVs rank #4-#6.
