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Sweden Plug-in Vehicle Sales – Q4 and Full Year 2015

The December sales of Plug-ins in Sweden dwarfs all earlier months. A total of 2080 EV & PHEV were sold, more than 4 times higher than December 2014 and more than double the sales of a normal month in 2015. 1249 units, 60 %, were Mitsubishi Outlanders, six times the normal monthly number. The background? In September, the Government announced the subsidy for PHEV to be cut in half, to 20 000 SEK and keep it at 40 000 for pure EVs. This caused a run on PHEVs, like we saw it in the Netherlands in Q4-2013. The reaction in Sweden was not easy to predict in numbers and we called off all bets for the 2015 totals in our previous article on Sweden. Here is what happened: From October onwards sales of PHEVs increased, culminating in 1732 PHEV sales and a 4,6 % market share in December. A total of 9000 Plug-ins were sold in Sweden during 2015, 1200 units more than expected by most industry experts. This means 2,3 % share for the year in a total market of 390 000 passenger cars & light commercial vehicles, also this an all-time-high.
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Plug-in Hybrid Sales Pulled Ahead

Many prospective buyers advanced their purchases during Q4, in order to receive the full 40 000 SEK grant for PHEVs. The mix went decidedly towards Plug-in Hybrids, also helped by two new models, the Passat GTE and the Volvo XC 90 Twin-Engine. Even pure EVs gained somewhat in the process: Tesla Model S had its best month ever in December with 172 units delivered. 2016 will see the the current trend revert again. Many for the PHEVs sold in Q4 will cause a dent in the 2016-Q1 results. The rest of 2016 is likely to see less growth in PHEVs and more growth in pure EVs instead. Our observation from detailed incentive and share monitoring in many markets is that the choice between the two propulsion concepts is heavily depending on the relative subsidies and tax savings.
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Plug-in SUVs all more popular

The new Volvo XC90 Twin Engine is likely to win most beauty contests, but its high price puts a lid on high volume sales. The XC90 PHEV starts at 800 000 SEK (incl. 25 % VAT) in Sweden and you can easily push the invoice over 1 MSEK by some personalization. The Volvo combines a 239 kW L4 petrol engine with a 64 kW electric motor. It packs a 9,3 kWh battery for 40 km all-electric range and a combined NEDC rating of 49 gram CO2 / km. First sales registrations were in October and the 140 total for Q4 is a good result. The Nissan Leaf sold the same number in Q4. The Outlander, with a base price of 410 kSEK sold 1745 units during Q4, is in a class of its own. For the complete December ranking details, please also check our sister publication EV-Sales.

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