The West European passenger car market, which includes the original EU member states prior to the 2004 enlargement plus EFTA member states Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, witnessed pure electric BEV new car registrations hit a new monthly record in July according to exclusive data published in the next edition of The European Electric Car Report. What is significant however is that the only other two months that recorded over 50,000 unit volumes were end of quarter Tesla trade-wind boosted months, which wasn't the case in July. Over 53,000 pure electric BEV passenger cars were registered across Western Europe during July according to the report, boosted by generous subsidies – topped up in major markets France and Germany in response to the COVID-19 impact – while the UK market was experiencing a delayed delivery boost from changes to the benefit in kind tax rate in April.
According to the Report the West European region could see monthly volumes surpass 100,000 units in September, the first month where European Tesla volumes are set to increase significantly as the facility that supplies Europe no longer also supplies China with the key volume model, Model 3, thanks to local Chinese production beginning earlier this year. First Volkswagen ID.3 deliveries are also set to begin in September with an expected European roll-out of all pre-order First Edition edition models taking place simultaneously, of which there are just over 30,000 orders.
And of course volumes continue to be pumped by OEMs pushing to meet CO2 compliance with those late to the game such as Daimler forced to accelerate their plug-in push. Some markets also reported that July volumes were also likely boosted by more consumers staying at home over the summer, due to the pandemic, which increased showroom footfall in what is usually a slow summer month.
This is just a summary of the European Electric Car Sales Monthly Market Intelligence Report which is published on a monthly basis and are available here.