Sweden Hits Record Plugin EV Share Of 49.4% In June

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Sweden saw plugin electric vehicle market share reach a record high of 49.4% in June 2021, up almost 2x from 25.7% share in June 2020. Thanks to recent policy re-weightings, full electrics are now as popular as plugin hybrids. The best selling full electric in June was the MG ZS EV, in the first ever month of Swedish deliveries for the brand. Overall auto sales showed strong recovery, up some 9% from even June 2019’s pre-Covid result.

June’s cumulative plugin result of a record 49.4% saw plugin hybrids (PHEVs) at 25.3% and full battery electrics (BEVs) at 24.1%. BEV share was also a new record, up almost 3x from June 2020’s 6.8% share; strong growth partly due to the recent policy changes. The cumulative plugin share for 2021 now stands at 40.1% from 25.5% at this point in 2020.

The trend in powertrain shares can be see in this graph (click to zoom):

Best Selling BEVs

Having seen its very first month of Swedish deliveries, the MG ZS EV saw a huge initial volume in June with 1665 units, very nearly taking the top overall auto spot for the month.

MG ZS EV. Image Courtesy: MG

The Tesla Model 3 and VW ID.4 also had strong months, in line with recent trends. In its first month of customer delivery, the Ford Mustang Mach-E also managed to scrape on to the top 10 BEVs list in June (166 units), and another newcomer, the Audi Q4 e-tron (114 units) was not too far behind:

The cumulative year-to-date rankings saw the MG ZS EV jump in at #4 spot (from outside the top 10 a month ago) thanks to June’s large volume. Meanwhile the Volvo XC40 was bumped out of the year-to-date top 10 list.

The Skoda Enyaq, still only in its 2nd month of strong delivery volumes, moved up the chart and may join its group sibling the VW ID.4 in the top 3 by the end of the year:

Update – July 1st Policy Changes

The Swedish government introduced a higher benefit-in-kind (förmånsvärde) tax for company cars on July 1st. This was partly because loopholes had been identified whereby company car purchases had been relatively more attractive, whereas private-buyer purchases had been relatively less attractive. The government expect that overall car sales may drop between 1.5% and 2% as a result of the increased tax.

Unfortunately, because of the way new benefit-value is calculated, plugin vehicles will likely bear a higher tax burden under the new system, relative to an average combustion vehicle. There is talk of making further changes to the tax calculation to correct for this negative consequence for plugins, but it looks like that won’t now happen before the end of 2021.

Combined plugin share is still on track to reach close to 50% for 2021 as a whole, with the last months of the year seeing individual scores close to 70% share. But the new tax changes are going to change the Swedish auto landscape yet again, and we will have to wait a few months to understand how all this shakes out, and the effect it has on the purchase of plugins. What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments.


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Dr. Maximilian Holland

Max is an anthropologist, social theorist and international political economist, trying to ask questions and encourage critical thinking. He has lived and worked in Europe and Asia, and is currently based in Barcelona. Find Max's book on social theory, follow Max on twitter @Dr_Maximilian and at MaximilianHolland.com, or contact him via LinkedIn.

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