28% of New Cars Sold in Netherlands Now Plugin Cars, Lynk & Co #1

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

After a surprisingly good January, February doubled last year’s result, with the Dutch plugin vehicle (PEV) market reaching 28% last month. That’s mostly thanks to pure electrics (16% of new vehicle sales), which surged 275%(!) year over year (YoY). In fact, that result allowed full electrics (BEVs) to surpass plugin hybrids (PHEVs) in the year-to-date (YTD) count. Overall, the YTD market share for plugin vehicles rose to 25% (13% BEV).

In February, the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV repeated January’s win, with the 369 registrations made last month allowing it to be #10 in the overall ranking. The Chinese model was followed this time by the Kia Niro EV and the surprising Fiat 500e, with the little Italian winning its first podium presence in Dutch lands.

Despite not having any model on the podium, Volkswagen Group managed to place 4 models in the top 10, with the highlight being the Audi Q4 e-tron. The Q4 e-tron ended the month in 4th, ahead of its MEB-platform siblings, which gives credence to the claim that the German OEM is prioritising production of its most expensive models during the current chip shortage crisis.

In the second half of the table, besides the presence of the Korean relatives — the Kia EV6 in #11 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in #15 — the Citroen C4 EV has made a rare presence in the top 20, with the striking French EV ending the month in #16.

Outside the top 20, February saw the future classic BMW i3 hit 96 registrations, getting close to a top 20 presence, so it seems the little Bimmer is looking to end its career on a high note. (You will be missed*….)

Looking at the 2022 ranking, Lynk & Co 01 PHEV is starting to carve out some distance over the runner-up Volvo XC40 PHEV, and although BEVs should rebound throughout the year and displace the Chinese model from the leadership position, the compact crossover is now the strongest candidate for the “Best Selling PHEV” title. If this was to happen, it would be a whole letter of intentions about how successful Chinese automakers can be in Europe in the near future. (Editor’s note: Lynk & Co and Volvo XC40 PHEV ride on the same platform, and are both part of Geely)

With last year’s frontrunners, the Kia Niro EV and Skoda Enyaq, already close to the top (in 3rd and 5th respectively), the biggest surprises off the podium are the #7 Audi Q4 e-tron and #6 Fiat 500e, with the Fiat EV establishing itself as the best selling Stellantis model, ahead of the #8 Peugeot e-208, which is something of a surprise in this market.

In the second half of the table, Stellantis has three other representatives — the #14 Peugeot 3008 PHEV, #17 Citroen C4 EV, and #19 Peugeot e-2008 EV. The multinational conglomerate has five representatives, from three different brands, in the top 20, which says a lot about the depth of the Stellantis lineup right now.

In the manufacturer ranking, leader Volvo (10.3%) gained some ground over runner-up BMW (10%, down 0.3 percentage points). Meanwhile, a rising Kia (7.9%, up 1.4 points) displaced Peugeot (6.7%, down 0.5 points) from the last place on the podium.

Finally, Mercedes (6.3%, up 0.3 points) has profited from its ever increasing lineup and has surpassed Audi (6.1%, down 0.5 points) in the race for #5.

As for OEMs, there were important changes to mention. While Volkswagen Group (18.6%, up 1 point) is still in the leadership position, runner-up Geely–Volvo (also 18.6%, parent company of Volvo, Polestar, and Lynk & Co) is just 3 units behind, so we should have a hot OEM duel to follow in the coming months.

Stellantis (15.5%, up 0.3 points) stayed firm in 3rd, but BMW Group’s 4th position (13.6%, down 1.2 points) is now being threatened by a rising Hyundai–Kia (up 1.4% compared to January). Hyundai–Kia is now only 0.6% behind the German group, with the Koreans now having 13% share.

*Editor’s note: Indeed, you will be missed….


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

José Pontes

Always interested in the auto industry, particularly in electric cars, Jose has been overviewed the sales evolution of plug-ins on the EV Sales blog, allowing him to gain an expert view on where EVs are right now and where they are headed in the future. The EV Sales blog has become a go-to source for people interested in electric car sales around the world. Extending that work and expertise, Jose is also market analyst on EV-Volumes and works with the European Alternative Fuels Observatory on EV sales matters.

José Pontes has 469 posts and counting. See all posts by José Pontes