Renault's European electric honours

The numbers are small, but the electric-car thing is coming and so far this year in Europe at least, Renault Zoe is leading the way.

Figures revealed this week for Europe's first-half sales for 2016 show the French hatchback has clambered past Mitsubishi's Outlander plug-in hybrid to claim the number one title.

While sales of electric cars climbed only a single per cent over its H1 2015 performance, it's enough to have car companies predicting a solid 200,000-plus electric-car market across the continent.

Its 11,872 sales over the first six months of the year mean the Zoe has dropped three per cent over its 2015 figure, but three individual months of market leadership have been enough for it to outstrip the Mitsubishi.

The Outlander lost 12 per cent of its volume in 2016, ending June with 11,176 sales, suffering as The Netherlands reduced its electric-car incentives, and heavily affected by the slowdown of the UK car market.

The Zoe's sister car, the Nissan Leaf, has been on the market for a long time now and it's remarkable that it saw a seven per cent jump in sales to 10,927 deliveries (though half of them were in France and Norway). It might struggle to hold on to third on the European electric car ladder, though, because its range (250km) is looking paltry next to that of the BMW's upgraded i3 and the Chevrolet Bolt).

It's inevitable that the Tesla Model S would be here somewhere, and it chimes in at fourth, with 6,834 sales, though its June figure of 1484 cars was well shy of its 2380 best for the year.

Volkswagen's claims of a bright outlook in a post-Dieselgate world are starting to look pretty good, with the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE finding 5694 homes this year to be the fifth-biggest seller, while the plug-in hybrid Passat GTE (4635) sat 8th on the list. Its all-electric e-Golf made it to 10th, with 3904 sales to the end of June, while Audi's plug-in hybrid A3 e-tron (effectively the sister car to the Golf GTE) sat in 11th, with 3360 sales.

In a frightening portent for Tesla's unique selling proposition, Germany's two other premium brands have a car each in the top 10, with the BMW i3 sitting in 7th with 4886 sales, and that's before its recent upgrade doubled its effective range.

Mercedes-Benz's plug-in hybrid C350e sedan and wagon made it to 9th with 4305 sales, while Volvo's hybrid XC90 T8 SUV climbed to 6th with 4995 sales.

European sales for the year to date
1. Renault Zoe* – 11,872
2. Mitsubishi Outlander Phev – 11,176
3. Nissan Leaf* – 10,927
4. Tesla Model S* – 6,834
5. Volkswagen Golf GTE – 5694
6. Volvo XC90 T8 – 4995
7. BMW i3* – 4886
8. Mercedes-Benz C350e – 4305
9. Volkswagen Passat GTE – 4635
10. Volkswagen e-Golf* – 3360

European sales for June
1. Renault Zoe* – 2418
2. Mitsubishi Outlander Phev – 1757
3. Nissan Leaf* – 1572
4. Tesla Model S* – 1484
5. Volkswagen Passat GTE – 1117
6. Mercedes-Benz C350e – 808
7. Volkswagen Golf GTE – 724
8. Volvo XC90 T8 – 708
9. BMW i3* – 573
10. Volkswagen e-Golf* – 516

*Denotes full battery-electric (though BMW i3 includes range-extender volumes)