The premium large car segment has lost some ground in the third quarter, as year-to-date sales are down by 1.500 units after being ahead by 12.000 units after the first half of 2014. The third quarter loss is almost entirely due to the slowdown of the two leaders of the segment Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-series.
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he ranking has fluctuated this quarter with the 5-series down to third place in July before rebounding to the top spot in August, when the E-Class was down in third place. But an excellent month of September secured the top spot of the segment for the Benz year-to-date. With the Audi A6 outselling the 5-series for the quarter, the E-Class looks set to hold on to it until the end of the year. The model last finished on top of the ranking in 2009 and 2010 before the 5-series took over. It’s been even longer for the A6, as the Audi last topped the premium large car segment in 2007 and it doesn’t look like the current generation will repeat that excellent performance of its predecessor. [Read more…]
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has recently introduced the Tesla Model S as the preferred airport taxi for arriving passengers who need transportation to their destination. This means a total of 167 Tesla Model S 85 kWh sedans are currently in use by two taxi companies, giving Schiphol the largest fleet of all-electric taxis of any airport in the world. A third company, Taxi Electric, has run a Model S between Amsterdam and Schiphol airport for a few months already, in addition to its fleet of Nissan Leaf zero-emission taxis. The Tesla taxis will serve Schiphol for a period of at least four years, with an optional extension of up to eight years.
The Nissan Leaf compact hatchback remains on top with over 7.000 units in six months time, an increase of 56% on last year, which was already more than double its 2012 sales, meaning the Leaf is on track for another record year. It is followed by the Tesla Model S, which has managed to top the Norwegian sales chart (of all vehicles, not just EV’s) again in March of this year. This was the third time ever the Model S has outsold all other cars in Norway, after September and December 2013. The Model S is on track to become the second electric car to break the 10.000 annual units level in Europe, after the Leaf.
As I predicted in my 
Sales of premium large cars are up 6% in the first six months of 2014, and we have a neck-to-neck race for the victory in the segment: While sales of the leading BMW 5-series remain flat, the chasing Mercedes-Benz E-Class has gained 10% to bring it within 300 units of the 5-series. In fact, the E-Class has outsold its rival every month since March, with the exception of June, when the 5-series beat it by a single unit: 9.117 vs 9.116.
Sales of premium large cars in Europe have rebounded in the first three months of 2014, up 8% after a similar decline over the full year 2013. The top six ranking is stable, although the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is now challenging the BMW 5-series for the lead. Thanks to a 25% increase of sales, the E-Class has slashed its lifelong competitor’s lead from 7.654 units during the same period last year to less than 1.900 units. In fact, the Benz even managed to outsell the 5-series in March.
The best selling EV in 2012, the Nissan Leaf compact car, remains unchallenged in 2013 as well, as sales more than double to just over 11.000 units, making the Leaf the first electric car to surpass the 10.000 annual sales threshold. The Renault Zoe subcompact hatchback was sold over 8.200 times in its first year of sales, helping the Zoe storm up the charts into second place.
The Tesla Model S large sedan, which competes at a totally different price point than the other cars in this segment, but also offers much more range than those cars, is especially successful in Norway (almost 2.000 sales or half of all European registrations) and The Netherlands (almost 1.200 sales), where government subsidies and preferential treatment of electric cars help to put these vehicles on the map. 
The premium large car segment in Europe decreases at the same rate as the rest of the market at -4%.
Consumers held increasingly favorable opinions of these clean transportation concepts. Hybrid vehicles were considered favorable by two thirds of all respondents, electric cars, and natural gas vehicles were considered favorable by more than half of all respondents, while biofuels were favored by more than two-fifths of respondents (43%).
As I mentioned in my article on 
If Musk’s claim about who initiated the safety investigation proves to be “a bit overstated”, it may hurt his credibility in the future. For someone who is known for his bold claims, credibility is key, or he will make a fool of himself.