The Ford Kuga PHEV has spent its fair share of time at or near the top of the European plug-in hybrid sales charts, which is notable given the fact that folks in that market tend to gravitate toward those kinds of partially-electrified vehicles. However, through the first eight months of 2024, the Ford Kuga PHEV has largely ranked second on the plug-in sales charts in Europe, trailing the BMW X1 and Volvo XC60 on multiple occasions. That wasn’t the case in September, as the Kuga regained the lead in that particular segment.
According to new data from JATO Dynamics, the Ford Kuga regained its spot atop the European PHEV sales charts by moving 5,224 units – which was actually a three percent decrease, year-over-year. Regardless, it was enough to give the Kuga a comfy lead in first place, as the second-place Volvo XC60 trailed a few hundred units behind with 4,711 sales, while the BMW X1 came in third with 4,324 sales. As for the overall PHEV market, it declined by nine percent versus September 2023 with a total of 83,010 units sold. This is the first time we’ve seen the Ford Kuga in first place in some time, as the crossover previously ranked second in the first half of 2024, which was also the case in July and August.
The overall new car market in Europe faced some challenges as well, with September sales totaling 1,119,320 units – a three percent drop year-over-year. However, much of that decline can actually be blamed on one automaker – Stellantis, which suffered a significant 25 percent sales decline last month, or around 50,000 units, which exceeded the overall drop of 40,000 units versus last year. At the same time, EVs bounced back a bit, gaining 14 percent in sales amid returning incentives.
“It’s hard to say for certain whether BEVs will continue along this positive trajectory, but the monthly increase in registrations is welcome news – especially considering that consumers still have reservations about the adoption of electric cars,” said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics. “Stellantis may see these results as an indicator that the time has come to refresh its offering and reposition its BEV lineup to ensure the downward trend doesn’t continue.”
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