ICE falls in Sweden

Internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicle sales in Sweden slid during January by nearly 40% year-on-year as the plug-in electric vehicle (PHEV) market share rose more than 30%, the trend expected to continue.

The most sought after EV models in January included battery electric vehicles (BEVs) the Kia Niro, Kia Soul and Renault Zoe and PHEVs the Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Optima and Volkswagen Passat GTE, says BIL Sweden – an industry organisation for manufacturers and importers of cars, trucks and buses.

The Tesla Model 3, Sweden’s top selling BEV in 2019, has yet to arrive there in 2020.

Sweden’s industry association expects the full year 2020 EV market share to be about 30%, reaching 40% in 2021.

PHEVs took the biggest share of the EV market at 23.1%, while BEVs got 7.1%.

Diesel sales more than halved, dropping from 8113 sales in January 2019 to 3840 in January 2020 – a 21.6% market share.

Soaring EV sales come in the first month of a recalibrated bonus-malus (feebate) incentive system for vehicle emissions with increased taxes for polluters and as the new Europe-wide CO2 rules take effect, CleanTechnica

reports.

Norway took four-and-a-half years to go from 11% EV market share to 40%, yet Sweden can do that in two years with more affordable EV varieties available, the report says.

Europe’s big five markets are already at 6% EV share and midsized markets like the Netherlands, Denmark, and Portugal are higher.