These are the most popular electric cars: one model pushes everyone away

These are the most popular electric cars: one model pushes everyone away

The 10 best-selling electric cars of last year have a surprise or two in store.

Electric cars continue to rise. Tesla is the world market leader in the fast-growing electric car segment, and traditional automakers are also picking up steam. In Europe, Renault’s Zoe tops the charts for electric cars. Switzerland, on the other hand, is still a Tesla country.

Electric car sales around the world

Last year, around 2.2 million electric cars took to the streets around the world. Only the electric models, that is, without hybrids and plug-in hybrids, reached a market share of 2.8% (8.2% in Switzerland). For comparison: in Norway, the model country for electric cars, 54.3 percent of customers have already opted for an electric car thanks to government subsidies, and another 20 percent for a plug-in hybrid car that it can also be charged from the mains. .

Globally, the electric car market is dominated by one brand: Tesla. Californians delivered about 500,000 models in one year.

Far behind are the Sino-US joint venture SAIC GM Wuling (SGMW), as well as Renault, VW, Hyundai, Nissan and Audi.

Almost one in four electric cars sold (22.8%) was a Tesla. In addition to the Model 3 (365,000 units), the new Model Y (80,000) also sold well. However, Tesla’s mid-range SUV missed the podium.

The following slideshow shows which electric cars got the most approval in 2020:

• When it comes to small cars, Chinese automaker Wuling is with the Mini EV took off.
• In the small car category is Renaults Zoe a success story in Europe.
• VW took the middle class out of the box with the VW ID.3 conquered.
• In the upper middle class it is Teslas Model 3 he rushed away from everyone.
• Luxury class rides Audi E-Tron Be the first to cross the finish line and leave the Model S and Model X behind.

Seen across all vehicle classes, the Model 3 is the best-selling electric car for the third time in a row. The difference with the competition is so great that this year the fourth consecutive victory seems more than possible.

The situation looks a little different in Europe, where Tesla had to admit defeat by a narrow margin in 2020.

Electric car sales in Europe

As Tesla and VW vie for the title of king of electric cars in Europe, a small French driver walked away from both in 2020.

The best-selling electric car was the small Renault Zoe, followed by the Model 3 and VW’s new Hope ID.3. The top 10 is completed by Hyundai Kona Electric, VW E-Golf, Peugeot E-208, Kia Niro, Nissan Leaf, Audi E-Tron and BMW i3.

Renault’s Zoe has been selling better every year since 2013 and sales skyrocketed in 2020. The French sold 99,261 units, an increase of 118 percent over the previous year.

To put it in perspective: in the annual ranking of all car models, the Renault Zoe is only ranked 33rd in Europe (13th in Switzerland) despite increased sales.

With nearly 86,000 trade-in models (minus 9 percent), the Tesla Model 3 is the second most popular electric car among Europeans. That’s enough for 43rd place in the ranking of all car models (second place in Switzerland).

VW’s ID.3 appears in third place in the ranking of electric cars, which despite its delayed start in the fall left behind almost all other electric cars. Volkswagen sold around 56,000 ID.3s in the last three to four months of the year.

Volkswagen overtakes Tesla in Europe

While Tesla dominates the electric car market around the world, the Volkswagen Group with its brands VW, Audi, Škoda, Porsche, etc. is moving to the top of the list in Europe. Germans now have a 25.2 percent market share in fully electric cars (BEV) and are the new number one. While almost one in four electric cars globally is a Tesla, one in four electric cars in Europe comes from the Volkswagen Group. Tesla went from 31 percent in 2019 to 13.3 percent and ranks third behind Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan. In 2019, Tesla was still the most successful electric car maker in Europe.

Recently, Tesla relied heavily on the Model 3 in Europe, as the new Model Y will only be available this year. In the Volkswagen Group, however, in addition to the VW ID.3, several other models such as the Audi E-Tron, Škoda Citigo, Seat Mii or Porsche Taycan drove sales.

In 2021, Tesla could make up ground again with the expected Model Y, but Volkswagen has several irons in the fire with the ID.4, Škoda Enyaq, Audi Q4 E-tron, Cupra El Born or Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.

Sale of electric cars in Switzerland

In 2020, nearly 19,500 pure electric vehicles were traded in Switzerland. This corresponds to a market share of 8.2 percent (2019: 4.2%). In general, the alternative units, that is, the hybrid, electric, gas and hydrogen models, even reached 28.2% (2019: 13.1%).

When it comes to fully electric cars, the Model 3, which costs around 50,000 Swiss francs, has a 26 percent market share. Tesla’s best seller found around 5,000 buyers throughout the year, Renault’s Zoe nearly 3,000. Third place goes to Hyundai Kona.

The new VW ID.3 already ranks fourth among the best-selling electric cars. The Stromer, which costs around 40,000 francs, was exchanged about 1,000 times in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In total, almost one in three electric cars here is a Tesla. The Renault-Nissan and Volkswagen groups remain at a considerable distance.

The Swiss electric car market is currently dominated by Tesla, Renault and Volkswagen. If you add the brands Volkswagen VW, Škoda, Audi, Seat and Porsche, the Germans are on a par with the Renault-Nissan group.

In the fast-growing e-car market, a lot will likely look different in twelve months: Mercedes, Opel, Dacia, and others will launch new models for almost every wallet this year. With the Spring Electric, the Renault Dacia brand even wants to offer the cheapest electric car in Europe to date. The base price should be around 20,000 francs.

“Electric drives will certainly continue to grow in 2021, although not as strongly as last year,” predicts Auto Switzerland media spokesperson Christoph Wolnik. One of the reasons for this is the slightly fewer number of new models being launched on the market compared to 2020.