The Tesla Model 3 has become the first all-electric car to become the best-selling vehicle in Europe.
However, that’s on a monthly basis and Tesla’s deliveries vary widely on a monthly basis.
Last quarter, Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles – getting close to a quarter of million vehicles.
Strong performance in all of Tesla’s major markets contributed to the new record.
We previously reported on China and the US contributing significantly, but now new data from Europe is showing how well Tesla is doing in the market.
JATO Dynamics published a list of the top-selling vehicles in Europe in September based on registration data.
Tesla Model 3 Unveil (Image: Tesla)
The Tesla Model 3 became the best-selling vehicle on the continent last month:
Tesla Model 3: 24,591
Renault Clio: 18,264
Dacia Sandero: 17,988
Volkswagen Golf: 17,507
Fiat/Abarth 500: 16,349
Opel/Vauxhall Corsa: 15,502
Peugeot 2008: 14,931
Hyundai Tucson: 14,088
Peugeot 208: 13,895
Renault Captur: 13,715
As you can see, there is no other all-electric vehicle in the top 10.
Model 3 is the best-selling electric car in Europe by a wide margin and the Model Y actually comes in second:
Tesla Model 3: 24,419
Tesla Model Y: 8,906
Volkswagen ID.3: 8,263
Renault Zoe: 6,577
Skoda Enyaq: 5,913
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Four-in-ten parents would rather their children skip petrol and diesel cars and choose an EV when learning to drive, a new survey has suggested.
Research by Peugeot UK has found that despite many parents wanting their kids to learn the ways of the road in an electric car, a third believe that it will be harder to learn to drive in one – and harder to own one, too.
The survey of 1,229 UK parents made through Peugeot’s UK social media channels showcased a belief that learning to drive in an electric car would prove to be a lot more difficult than in a petrol or diesel car.
To highlight that an EV is in fact quite simple to drive, Peugeot provided a class of 10 16-year-olds with an electric driving lesson at Bedford Autodrome. In it, they were shown by professional drivers how to live with and own an electric car.
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THINGS are moving quickly in the world of electric cars and Kia is elbowing its way to the front of the pack. The EV6 is the Korean brand’s new flagship electric car that sits above the e-Niro and Soul EV — and it introduces a new era of design for the company.
The EV6 uses similar electric hardware to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 although the battery supplier is different and in terms of design, the two cars couldn’t look more different.
Within the floor is a 77.4kWh battery that can provide up to 328 miles on a single charge. There is the choice of rear- or all-wheel drive with two power outputs and two specification grades. In time there will also be a high-performance version with 577bhp.
Kia is touting near-supercar levels of accelerative performance for that GT range-topper, but the regular models are no slouches either. The all-wheel-drive EV6, for example, will reach 62mph from a standing start in 5.2 seconds — how much more performance do you need from an electric crossover?
Exterior design and rivals
Having spent so many years making the ‘Tiger nose’ grille such a mainstay of the Kia range, the designers must have felt a little deflated when the engineers told them it wasn’t a requirement for the electric EV6.
That didn’t stop them pumping up the Kia’s wheel arches to add to its presence and surprisingly, one of the cars that influenced the Kia’s design was a 1970s rally superstar, the Lancia Stratos. That sounds far-fetched until you start to look closely at the styling around the rear.
KIA EV6 (Image: kia.com)
A light bar comes up from the hind quarters and wraps around the bulging boot to double up as a small rear spoiler. This feature is one of the most distinctive aspects of the Kia’s design.
Measuring almost the same length as Kia’s seven-seat Sorento SUV, the EV6 is no city car, and it rides on 19in wheels as standard, though most are expected be sold with 20in rims.
It has a long wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) that pushes those wheels out to either end of the car, to the benefit of passenger space.
Without a big, tall combustion engine in the front the Kia has a neat clamshell bonnet design that slides down around the triangular LED headlights. This short front and the raked windscreen have a hint of Jaguar I-Pace about them. Kia is also one of a growing number of manufacturers to fit door handles that sit flush with the bodywork when the car is locked, as it helps reduce drag through the air.
How the air flows over the EV6’s bodywork is further influenced by items such as the mini winglets that protrude from the rear spoiler. Look around the rear of the car and you’ll also spot the lack of a rear wiper. Instead, air is funnelled through the roof spoiler and over the rear glass to clear water away at speed, though we’ll have to wait to see how well it works during a damp British winter.
The Kia EV6 is far from conventional looking, with a futuristic sense to its styling and it’s more positively striking that other EV rivals such as the Volkswagen ID.4 and even our 2021 Car of the Year, the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Interior and practicality
Space is one thing of which the EV6 isn’t short, but it also has a real wow factor that hits you the first time you sit in the driver’s seat. Were it not for the large new Kia typeface set into the two-spoke multifunction steering wheel, guessing who produced this cabin might not be so easy.
A monolithic digital instrument screen gently curves its way across the dashboard. Comprising two 12.3in displays, it presents everything you’ll ever need while in the car in a straightforward way — and the infotainment system is one of the easier ones on the market to navigate.
To keep button count to a minimum on what is already a slender fascia, the climate controls and menu shortcut tabs are all on a touch-sensitive bar that presents different functions according to mode, much like a TouchBar on a new Apple MacBook.
The centre console juts forward from between the front seats but doesn’t meet up with the dash. This unit houses the start button that is cleverly angled towards the driver, making it one of the first things they see when climbing in, and it appears to be blanketed by a metallic cover.
Read more: ://driving.co.uk/car-reviews/first-drive/kia-ev6-review-2021/” target=”_blank”>DRIVING – THE SUNDAY TIMES
Discovery’s long-running motoring format Fifth Gear is to relaunch as an electric vehicle (EV) show and has installed former Top Gear host Rory Reid to present.
Fifth Gear: Recharged will air episodes weekly on streamer Discovery+ in the UK and Quest later this year as All3Media-owned producer North One looks to take advantage of colossal growing interest in EVs, which has quickened due to the current UK gas crisis.
The original Fifth Gear ran for 28 seasons, first on Channel 5 and then Discovery channels History and Quest, before ending two years ago.
“Almost every car manufacturer in the world has bet their house on electric so this seemed like a sensible thing to do rather than a massive leap of faith,” said North One founder and Fifth Gear exec Neil Duncanson, who also produces coverage of EV sporting format Formula-E.
Porsche Taycan Turbo S (Image: Porsche)
“Electric was a byline in the original Fifth Gear but now internal combustion engines would be a byline. We are reflecting changing attitudes and audience behavior.”
Signing Rory Reid
Motoring journalist and presenter Reid, who hosted BBC format Top Gear from 2016 to 2019, will help broaden the show out to a wider audience, according to Simon Downing, Discovery’s SVP of Marketing and Head of Factual and Documentaries.
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We test the affordable electric estate that’s proving to be a surprise sales success
MG may not be the iconic British sports car maker that it once was, but it’s thriving as a bargain brand under Chinese ownership.
In September 2021 MG Motor UK achieved its highest ever monthly sales in the UK, passing 5,000 registrations for the first time ever with sales up 61.2% year-on-year.
Much of the success was driven by MG’s pure electric models, the ZS EV and MG5 EV. And even though it was only launched in late 2020, the MG5 was the seventh best-selling pure EV in the UK in September.
As an all-electric estate, the MG5 currently occupies a unique niche in the zero emissions market.
It may not be the most handsome load-lugger on the market, but just like its crossover-styled sibling, the ZS, it’s a spacious, seriously affordable family car.
MG5 (Image: mg.co.uk)
Priced from £25,095 (after the Government’s £2,500 plug-in grant) it’s available with two battery sizes (52.5kWh and 61.1kWh), giving a claimed range of 214 and 250 miles respectively. Both have a 115kW (154bhp) electric motor.
So, while the MG5 isn’t nudging the 300-mile range mark, it’s way ahead of many similarly priced cars, some of which are unable to reach 150 miles on a single charge (eg MINI Electric, Honda E and Mazda MX-30).
The MG5 sits much lower than most EVs, with the water-cooled battery pack integrated into the car’s chassis, giving it a surprisingly sleek profile..
Some may find it slightly more nondescript from the front, but plenty of buyers have no problem with it judging by the amount I’ve seen on the roads in and around London.
It’s perfectly acceptable inside too, if slightly dated, but there’s no debate over the space on offer. The large boot, accessed via a wide tailgate opening, delivers 464 litres of capacity with the rear seats up and load cover in place, expanding to an impressive 578 litres with the load cover retracted. Fold the 60:40 rear seat and the load capacity increases to a mighty 1,456 litres.
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The problem with disruptive changes is that not many people really see them coming. The vast majority deny the possibility even if warned. The current pandemic is the most obvious example that we are still living through. Then there was the banking crisis of 2008/9. Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls them “black swan events”, and the arrival of electric vehicles is fast turning into another one, albeit much more positive than the previous two examples. Unless you work in the oil industry.
When Tesla started selling the initial Roadster and then the Model S, lots of major car companies were highly skeptical that the technology would catch on, with both Daimler and Toyota divesting themselves of their stakes in the company in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The Nissan Leaf, which was the world’s bestselling EV until the Model 3 stole its laurels, is a great car but still didn’t excite the vision that this would be the kind of vehicle most people would eventually be driving.
Over the last couple of years, however, those who aren’t in denial or don’t have vested interests to protect can see a freight train on the horizon. The most recent sales car sales figures in the UK put battery-electric vehicles at 15.2% of the market in September, hitting 9.5% of units for the year to date. Despite the chip shortage, the BEV market is growing while the market for pure fossil-fuel vehicles has collapsed. BEVs are now more popular than diesels in the UK. Even hybrids had a bad September. In Europe, plug-ins now outsell diesels too.
Tesla Model 3 (Image: Tesla.com)
Tesla Model 3 Now UK’s Bestselling Car
The Tesla Model 3 has even managed to become the bestselling car across all fuel types in the UK in September. It’s worth bearing in mind that September is a quarter end, and Tesla tends to have a big sales push in those periods, so these figures will be artificially higher than usual. But it’s still incredible to see this car sell 31% more than the next biggest seller – the subcompact Vauxhall Corsa, which retails for less than half the price of even the entry-level Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus. In the UK, the only car ads you now see on TV – except Toyota’s dubious “self-charging hybrid” spots – are for electric autos.
Of course, we are living in some very uncertain times. The pandemic has thrown all normal car sales figures to the wind because dealerships have been closed for months on end over the last 18 months. The chip shortage has made it impossible for manufacturers to meet demand now their dealerships are open, further compacting the problems just when things were opening again. In the UK, we also had a fuel crisis that made some people question whether traditional cars were really more convenient than vehicles you can charge at home.
But in theory the dealership issues and chip shortage should have affected BEVs as much as any other vehicle types, and it is clear that this hasn’t been the case. Since around the middle of 2019, the trickle of electric car sales in the UK has started to accelerate. One pundit on Twitter has extrapolated the “S curve” of sales in the UK, and now reckons that in this country we will be buying more BEVs than any other type of car by mid-2023. That is barely 18 months from now.
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Simon Ostler from BuyaCar thinks it’s time for used car buyers to start seriously considering electric cars
Wondering whether you’re ready to go electric? The recent petrol and diesel shortages have certainly made a lot more people wonder whether now is a smart time to make the switch to an electric car. There’s an increasing selection of new electric vehicles available but long waiting lists for new cars and what appear to be high list prices for battery-powered models can be a turn off. The answer is a used electric car.
You’re probably thinking that with sales of new electric cars still representing a small proportion of the market, finding a used model of a few years old might be a challenge. This is the myth we’re here to dispel; the affordable used electric car is fast becoming a realistic prospect for everyone.
BMW i3 120Ah (Image: BMW Group)
Second-hand EVs are more affordable and usable than ever, with older models starting to become available from less than £5,000. The growing selection of new electric cars we’ve seen in recent years means that the choice for used car buyers is increasing every day.
Opt for a used Renault ZOE that offers a real-world range of around 185 miles per charge and costs start from less than £200 per month on PCP finance (or less than £10,000), with plenty of choice from £250 per month (or £14,000). Meanwhile, the practical Nissan Leaf, the more sporty and high-tech BMW i3 and the compact and easy-to-drive Vauxhall Corsa-e can all be found from less than £300 per month (or £20,000).
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With running-cost savings available, motorists are increasingly keen to go green
As some petrol stations ran out of fuel and queues of cars lined up outside those that did have stocks, causing lengthy waits for motorists waiting to fill up, many drivers’ thoughts turned to the option of buying an electric vehicle.
The classified ad website Autotrader says there was a 60% rise in searches for electric cars in the week after 24 September, when shortages at the pumps started. Industry figures show that the number of electric cars sold in the UK last month neared the figures for the whole of 2019.
Seán Kemple of Close Brothers Motor Finance, which offers car loans through dealerships, said the recent fuel shortages may act as a catalyst for some drivers to switch over sooner than planned. “With demand for electric vehicles already growing rapidly this year, the fuel shortages will have certainly further raised awareness for consumers of the benefits of owning an EV,” he said.
In the past, many drivers have been turned off by the upfront cost, which is typically higher than petrol equivalents. But with the price of production falling and battery prices coming down, switching is becoming more accessible. So is now the time to go electric?
The upfront cost
Although the cost of producing an electric car is decreasing, the price of an EV is still more than its petrol equivalent, a situation which is expected to continue for the next five years.
The insurer LV= compared similar models of electric and petrol vehicles, with the EVs coming out more expensive. For instance, it found that a Nissan Leaf cost just under £27,995, more than £5,000 more than a petrol Ford Focus; while the electric Tesla Model 3 cost almost £40,990, compared with £39,625 for a petrol BMW 320i.
There are options for those who do not have the money to buy outright and do not want to take out a loan. Many buyers will choose to lease their cars. This means the driver pays a monthly fee for a number of years, after which they hand back the car or take a newer model and start another contract.
Charging with an Ohme smart charging cable
DriveElectric, a leasing company in Buckinghamshire, says most customers lease for between two and four years and get a newer model at the end of the term. A Nissan Leaf can cost from £200 a month on a four-year contract with the firm.
Monique Furniss from Rotherham-based Norton Finance said this option appealed to people who wanted to have the most up-to-date vehicle. “Since electric vehicle technology is developing at such a rapid rate, people who are interested in enjoying the environmental and financial benefits of an electric car are more likely to want the newest and therefore most advanced cars,” she said.
Alternatively, drivers can also now get EVs on a renewable monthly basis with everything included, giving them the opportunity of trying them out without committing to buying or a lengthy lease. Onto has contracts that automatically renew each month unless you cancel and has a Renault Zoe ZE50 on its books for £389 a month for a maximum of 1,000 miles with insurance, charging and maintenance included. Onto says there is no upfront deposit on the vehicles, but additional mileage above the monthly limit must be paid for, as well as delivery and collection fees. Elmo meanwhile has the same car from £379 a month with a limit of 800 miles. It costs £397.78 for 1,000 miles and £416.55 for 1,200 miles.
Melanie Shufflebotham, the co-founder of the Zap-Map website and app, which helps drivers find charging points, said the subscription model was a good way to test an EV for the first time.
If you would rather buy outright, the government offers a grant for the initial purchase of qualifying vehicles, although it is not as generous as it was. The plug-in vehicle grant gives you up to £2,500 off the price of a brand new qualifying car as long as it costs less than £35,000.
Running Costs
Although the headline price of an EV is higher than its petrol equivalent, the day-to-day cost of driving the car should be lower. The LV= survey found that the switch away from filling up offers the biggest saving, with EV drivers with an annual mileage of 12,000 saving more than £900 a year.
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We paid a visit to Llandow circuit to catch the action and the pit-lane chat of the country’s first electric car track day meet
Llandow circuit in South Wales at 9am. Cars start to trickle in. Owners gather around each other’s vehicles to chat. Some unload their car from a trailer. Some start to fit a spare set of wheels with track tyres. Others fiddle with the adjustable suspension to put it in its track setting. It’s a very common start to a track day at one of the UK’s motorsport venues. Except there are no engines to be warmed, no oil levels to be checked and no V8s coughing into life. In fact, the only noise these cars emit is a faint hum.
That’s because this is the UK’s first EV-only track day. It’s the brainchild of John Chambers, who runs Tevo Solutions, a business catering to suspension upgrades for Teslas. Few countries are as well catered for as the UK when it comes to track days, so you might imagine an EV-only track day wouldn’t be necessary but, according to Chambers, there are still lots of misconceptions. “Only a year and a half ago, only about 50% of tracks would allow EVs on in the first place, because they all were worried about fire and getting electrocuted if there was an accident,” he says.
“Another reason why I’ve organised this track day is that there’s this opinion that… EVs are just good at drag races because you see so many drag racing videos,” continues Chambers, adding that even owners aren’t aware of their cars’ potential.
Over the past few years, he’s gathered a small band of people who do track days in their Teslas, and some of those are in attendance at Llandow, but there’s a good mix of people and cars here, from diehards to those with a casual interest.
Aside from the Teslas, there are a couple of Porsche Taycans and Audi E-tron GTs here, as well as a few hopefuls in a Volkswagen ID 3 and e-Golf. Someone has even brought a converted first-generation Porsche Boxster.
Everyone piles into the briefing room. “Remember that there is always something to hit, so be careful,” Chambers warns. Wisely, a trio of driving instructors are on standby to guide some of the novices in getting their 400bhp saloons around the track in one piece. So far, so conventional, well- organised track day.
“We’re being pioneers here. It’s all about changing people’s minds,” he continues. “You’re going to have to plan your own charging strategy. Don’t leave it until you’re down to 5% charge to come in: you still need to be able to get to a charger, and besides, below 15% you’re not going to get full power, anyway.” You don’t get that at most track days.
Without doubt, charge is one of the biggest challenges in using an EV as a track car. The Teslas can do more laps than you might imagine: 50 laps of Llandow is not unrealistic. However, at lunchtime, you could be forgiven for thinking the event has ended, because most drivers disappear in search of some charge. The closest Superchargers are at Sarn services, about 25 minutes away. Non-Teslas have to travel even further to find a proper rapid charger. On-site charging was considered but is not viable because of the cost and logistics of bringing in battery packs. Meanwhile, installinga diesel generator would be rather questionable.
There are a few other issues with caning EVs on track, even at a relatively short, tight one like Llandow. The first car to falter is the e-Golf. The owner campaigns a Subaru Impreza Turbo rally car and runs the e-Golf as his daily driver so he thought it would be good fun to trailer it to the track. Unfortunately, the car’s first-generation battery cooling system calls it quits after just two laps, limiting power until it cools down again.
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Char.gy is leading the first wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging trial to be open to the general public in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Nine additional trials across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes are to take place, with the trials a collaborative effort between Buckinghamshire Council, Milton Keynes Council, the London Borough of Redbridge, the University of Warwick, the Open University, IPT Technology and hiyacar.
The trial has seen 10 Renault Zoes with aftermarket induction charging kits provided by hiyacar, with members of the public able to book the cars through the hiyacar platform for £1 per hour or £5 per day, plus insurance.
The improved Renault Zoe has a longer range and posher interior (Image: Renault)
Char.gy’s wireless charging technology has been installed into a dedicated parking spot in Liston Road Car Park, allowing EVs to charge via an electrical induction charging pad installed in the ground.
The trial – which has secured funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK – is to last 12 months.
Read more: CURRENT
It’s Time to Go Green!
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