Outside of TeslaWorld, the silver medal in May went to the Volvo EX30, with 245 registrations, once again confirming its popularity in Europe. The last place on the podium went to a surprising Audi A3 PHEV, which delivered a record 227 units!
This is another quirk of this market, and others like it, because it is not a market with large volumes — like say, Spain — and it also sits on the periphery of mainland Europe. Portugal, along with other markets like Ireland and Iceland, suffers from regular units starvation, which means, instead of a steady flow of deliveries, when it comes to some models and brands, deliveries are made in batches. So, during several months, a given model gets symbolic registrations, say single digits or low double digits, and then a boatload of units land in dealerships, shooting the model to the top of the tables in a given month while actually satisfying demand that had been on hold for several months.
The Audi A3 PHEV is just the most extreme example, as there are more cases in May’s ranking of the same logic: The #19 Kia Sportage PHEV and #20 Toyota RAV4 PHEV broke their personal records in May, with 82 and 81 registrations respectively, after rather discreet careers this year. The Audi Q4 e-tron, #15 with 88 deliveries, had its best result in a year. (This model’s deliveries probably came in the same batch as the Audi A3 PHEV.)
Other models shining in May were the Volvos S/V & XC60 PHEV midsizers, with both the SUV (136 registrations) and the sedan/wagon (176 registrations) scoring record results, something that can only be explained by the EX30’s current success (a high tide lifts all boats and all that) as these models already have six to seven years on their backs.
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The BMW iX1 continues to expand its deliveries, having reached a record 94 units in May, thus confirming the crossover’s popularity, while Peugeot finally got time to allocate decent volumes of the new e-208 EV and e-2008 EV to Portugal, allowing both models to reach new year best scores, 104 units and 117 units, respectively.
A popular model in Portugal, the Mercedes CLA250e PHEV scored a record 93 registrations in May, helping the German make to place four models on the top 20 and allowing it to be the most represented brand on the table.
Speaking of Mercedes, the three-pointed-star’s models are quite popular in Portugal, and the aforementioned performance wasn’t a one-time thing but a regular feature. The German make has even more representatives in the YTD top 20 — the entry A-class in 3rd, E-Series in 7th, GLC in 8th, C-Class in 12th, and EQA compact model in 13th.
Outside the top 20, and still on Mercedes, the EQB had 59 registrations, its best result in almost two years, while a mention also goes out to the good result of the VW ID.3 (50 units), its best result since last August. And here’s another peculiarity of the Portuguese market: In May, the best selling BYD model was the Seal(!), with 57 registrations, with the good looking sedan cementing its position as the brand’s best seller here — not only in May, but also YTD, with 271 registrations.
Interestingly, it looks like even BYD was caught off guard with this one. Having recently visited a BYD dealership in Portugal, all available models (the Dolphin, Atto 3, Tang, Han…) were available for immediate delivery except for the Seal, which had a waiting list….
The reason for this is likely the addition of generous company car subsidies as well as the popularity of sedans (and station wagons) in Portugal.
Looking at the YTD data, in the light of the recent developments regarding tariffs, the current advance of the Tesla Model 3 should be enough to keep it in the lead, but the second position could be up for grabs if the Tesla Model Y continues on its downwards spiral. The main candidate to replace the US crossover is the 3rd placed Mercedes A-Class, as the #4 Volvo EX30 should see its delivery surge drop in the second half of the year.
The only other top 20 model to be affected by the new Chinese tariffs is the #8 MG4, which should drop several positions by the end of the year.
Another highlight in the ranking is the 6th position of the Peugeot 308, with the compact hatchback being the best selling Stellantis model, ahead of the surprising #11 Citroen e-Berlingo van-with-windows MPV.
One more surprise appearance in the top 20 is the Skoda Octavia PHEV, in #18, with the Czech model securing an unexpected presence among the best sellers.
Looking at the brand ranking, Mercedes benefits from the popularity of its lineup, even beating Tesla (15.8% vs. 15.6%). The German make is also comfortably ahead of its arch rival, BMW, which is 3rd with 11.7% share. This is one of those markets where the investment that Mercedes made in its plugin hybrid models (bigger batteries, CCS availability…) is paying off, allowing it to distance itself from its German rivals.
In 4th we have Volvo, with 8.3% share, with much of it based on the EX30’s sales. Peugeot is in 5th, with 6.4% share, with the French brand comfortably ahead of #6 Audi (4.7%), but also distant from #4 Volvo.
Arranging things by OEM, we have a close race for #1, with Mercedes Group (15.8%), Tesla (15.6%). and Stellantis (15%) competing for the top spot, but with #4 Volkswagen Group (12.5%) and #5 BMW Group (12.2%) not that far behind. This is probably one of the more open races for gold in the OEM category anywhere in the world.
With Tesla probably suffering from smaller volumes coming from the Model 3, Mercedes Group seems the favorite at this moment, but with Stellantis probably benefitting from increased volumes coming from its new, lower-cost models (Citroen e-C3, Citroen e-C3 Aircross, Opel Frontera, Fiat Grande Panda…), we could see it surpass the German OEM by the end of the year. We shall see.
Finally, Geely–Volvo is 6th, with 9% share, and with the Chinese conglomerate likely suffering from the new tariffs (the Volvo EX30, Polestar 2, and Smart #x’s are all made in China), not only will these developments prevent it from trying to reach a top 5 spot, but they will have to watch their back and keep an eye on the competition.
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Publish date : 2024-06-28 10:26:26
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