Ford Kuga Europe’s Second Most Popular PHEV In August 2024

The Ford Kuga PHEV has long been a regular atop the list of Europe’s best-selling plug-in hybrid models, having wrapped up the first half of 2024 in second place – behind only the Volvo XC60 – and closing out July in the same exact spot. While impressive, it’s worth noting that the Ford Kuga was the top-selling PHEV in Europe across the entirety of 2023 – the third consecutive year it achieved that – but the competitive landscape is clearly changing. Regardless, the Ford Kuga remained Europe’s second-best selling plug-in in the month of August.

This news comes to us from JATO Dynamics, revealing that the Ford Kuga once again ranked second in terms of new registrations in August 2024, but behind a new foe – the BMW X1 – which rose up from this place in July to claim the top spot from the Volvo XC60 with 2,883 sales. However, the Kuga managed to beat out the XC60 with sales of 2,812 units versus 2,718, even though that was a significant 34 percent decrease versus August 2023. Meanwhile, the X1 and XC60 posted healthy double-digit sales increases last month, even as the overall PHEV market declined by 21 percent year-over-year. As Ford Authority recently reported, the Puma also managed to hold onto its spot as one of the top 20 best-selling new vehicles across Europe as well, regardless of powertrain.

As for the overall European new vehicle market, it struggled a bit by posting 753,482 sales, which is 16 percent fewer than August 2023’s total of 899,881 units – a figure that was also its biggest year-on-year drop since June 2022. It’s quite the change from prior months, and means that through the first eight months of the year, sales have now increased by just 1.9 percent compared to 2023. Making matters worse, EV sales dropped by 36 percent to 125,070 units – the largest decline that segment has experienced since January 2017, when JATO first began tracking sales of those vehicles separately.

“The industry is going to face further challenges in the coming months. Buyers are still grappling with the pressure to make the switch to electric, and EVs continue to be more expensive than already-pricey combustion engine cars,” said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics. “If this trend continues, the end-of-year results could present an overall decline in vehicle registrations. Appetite for BEVs among consumers is quickly diminishing. There are many factors contributing to this, including the lack of clarity around incentives, high prices, and concerns around the low residual value of EVs.”