EVs represented 0.25% of vehicle registrations in France in February; diesels gain 4 points of share
29 March 2012
Challenge Bibendum. Electric vehicles represented 0.25% (406 registrations) of the vehicle market in France in February.
290 Bolloré BlueCars were registered in February, almost double the January figure, representing 71.4% of the electric vehicle registrations. The Renault Fluence was well behind with 28 registrations, followed by the Mia (27 units), the Nissan Leaf (24 units), the Citroën C-Zéro (21 units) and Peugeot iOn (15 units).
The Think City, which registered 102 units in February 2011 as courtesy vehicles for the Norauto centers, is no longer on sale.
Hybrid vehicles represented 0.7% of the market in February, with 1,174 registrations. Gasoline-engined vehicle lost 4 share points in the month, while diesels gained 4 points to reach 73.6%.
I don't understand that.
The Kangoo ZE was the leader last year, with 768 registrations:
http://www.michelinchallengebibendum.com/en/NEWS-AND-PUBLICATIONS/News-and-publications/2011-sales-of-electric-vehicles-increased-fivefold-in-France
It seems to have disappeared without trace in these February figures!
Posted by: Davemart | 29 March 2012 at 10:38 AM
I wonder who is buyingthe EVs - it is probably companies that are tryingto green their image, hence the few large purchases and the figures jumping all over the place.
As I said earlier, Europe has gone diesel and downsized gasoline, hence EVs are being squeezed out.
Which is a shame really, as EVs are idea for city use, from a pollution point of view.
I would much rather live in a city with 1M EVs than one with 1M diesels - which is the way we are going.
Posted by: mahonj | 29 March 2012 at 01:36 PM
EVs hit more than 1/3 the sales of hybrids. That's not bad.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 29 March 2012 at 09:00 PM
Those Bollorés are for the Autolib' carsharing program. Availability for retail customers starts this month as a € 300 per month lease. It is a nice little car with a 30 kWh LiPo battery and > 200 km range. I am curious how it will be received by the general public. € 300/mo is a bargain.
There has been very little news about this car and the Mia. In fact I had never heard about those two cars until now. The Mia is just as interesting and very unconventional.
In spite of largely operating under the radar, those two take the 1st and 3rd spot in EV sales.
Posted by: Arne | 30 March 2012 at 12:53 AM
THe statistics above are for "cars" and do not include utility vehicles; the official statistics for the latter are not displaying an EV category.
The numbers of the Kangoo ZE are therefore not included in the statistics of the article, and they allegedly dwarf the others car sales.
Another interesting question: what did happen to the Fluence ZE.
I found the following statistics for 2011:
"768 Kangoo ZE et 396 Fluence ZE en novembre et en décembre"
Posted by: French Engineer | 30 March 2012 at 12:57 AM
@mahonj,
I can't speak for France, but here in the Netherlands the LEAF sells relatively better with 28 units in february. The total for past 12 months were 295 vehicles. Although I do see greenwashing vehicles with large stickers, actually most LEAFs that I encounter 'in the wild' are private vehicles.
It is true that most LEAFs here are sold as company cars and not owned by private individuals. But they are still the personal choice of the driver that can use the car as if it was his own vehicle.
Of the Mitsubishi i-Miev and its derivatives (Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-Zero) 171 were sold over the past 12 months.
The Renault Fluence ZE has only been on sale since last October, but the total sales of 62 over jan and feb look promising.
Posted by: Arne | 30 March 2012 at 01:34 AM
Anne:
'Its L. M. P. battery gives it a range of 250 km between charges, well in excess of the 40 km clocked up on average by a driver in an urban environment.'
http://www.bluecar.fr/en/pages-presentation-voiture/default.aspx
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 02:06 AM
'What happened to the Fluence?'
I reckon the Zoe happened to the Fluence, and people are hanging on for that - I would.
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 02:07 AM
The Bluecar had 9,000 expressions of interest, so hopefully many of them will be converted to sales.
The Autolib charging network in Paris can be used by anyone, so Paris should be about the best city in the world for electric vehicles.
The 250km of autonomy for the Bluecar, presumably on the NEDC cycle, should translare to around 100 miles on the EPA as against the Leaf at 73 miles, about where you would expect for a 30kwh battery, and more than the Renault Zoe which I estimate is good for around 87 miles on the EPA cycle with it's 210km on the NEDC
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 02:47 AM
Davemart,
hanging on for that - I would.
Me too. I'm eligible for a new company car 1 year from now, and at the moment ZOE is my favourite, with the LEAF a close 2nd.
The Fluence is not anywhere on my list. It is too big and it is not a hatchback. The battery is a big box behind the rear seats a la Tesla Roadster. Very impractical. And to round it off: totally non-descript styling. Bleh.
Posted by: Arne | 30 March 2012 at 03:44 AM
Hi Anne.
You don't fancy the Bluecar?
I thought a bit more range might appeal, but OTOH if that is not critical, I am with you all the way! ;-)
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 03:49 AM
@Anne:
In a year the Zoe Gordino might hit the market, and some rumours say it could have a 30kwh battery.
Now that, my friend, is a car! :-)
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 03:59 AM
I don't want the Bluecar because it is only available in a 3-door version. What also makes me take a wait-and-see-approach is that Bollore is not a car company. I trust them to make a good battery, but can they make a good car? They have no reputation in this market.
But there are many pros:
- The innovative battery. It seems the LMP solid state battery can guarantee a longer lifetime and higher energy density than the LiFePO4's that Renault/Nissan are using. 100 Wh/kg according to the Bollore specs. Here some technical info on these batteries (AVESTOR was acquired by the Bollore group).
- The supercapacitors which will increase regenerative braking efficiency. Although the relatively small 50 kW electric motor will quickly be overwhelmed.
- Cheap (perhaps there are hidden surcharges, 300 per month sounds too good to be true).
- Light, small, simple, efficient.
- And last but not least: surprisingly good-looking for a small car.
Posted by: Arne | 30 March 2012 at 04:45 AM
Hi Anne:
Nissan/Renault are not using LiFePo4s, bit lithium manganese spinel, which is better on energy density but worse on lifetime.
OTOH you are leasing the battery, so who cares?
They are probably moving to NMC batteries with even higher energy density and maybe better life in the next generation.
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 02:29 PM
@Anne:
'Although the relatively small 50 kW electric motor will quickly be overwhelmed.'
Surely not? You are the engineer, and I ain't, but why would you want to feed the energy from braking straight back into the motor at the same rate? And in any case, the peaking power of an electric motor is way high above nominal.
Posted by: Davemart | 30 March 2012 at 03:02 PM