10 Electric Vehicles That Could Cross 100,000 Annual Sales In Europe

December 13, 20203 years ago Zachary Shahan 0 Comments

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Last week, I published an article about 4 electric vehicles that could bring on the “ICEpocalypse” in the USA (ICE stands for internal combustion engine, which is what runs a gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle). It’s true that 4 vehicles are really not going to bring on an ICEpocalypse by themselves, but the idea is that they are transformational vehicles that could help significantly to open the gates to an electric future, and could sell at high volumes.

A reader, “Lil Sparky,” had a good idea: “Followup article? ‘The Fourteen Horsement of The European ICEcapylse’ or ‘The Too Many to Enumerate Horsement of The European ICEcapylse’?” I loved the idea. When I jumped into European EV sales, though, I decided to postpone one of those headlines and go with the one above — especially because I’d like to get reader feedback on more ideas for the 14 (or so) Horsemen of the European ICEcapylse. The headline above is more open-ended.

In addition to looking at the top selling electric vehicles in Europe, I also had a look at the top selling passenger vehicles overall across the continent. That helped me to round out the following list.

Volkswagen ID.3

The Volkswagen ID.3 is essentially replacing the Volkswagen Golf (gradually), and the Golf is the best selling passenger vehicle in Europe, with more than 300,000 sales expected this year (and it’s certainly a bad year, with sales down 32% in the first 10 months). In fact, the Volkswagen ID.3 can already beat the Golf in terms of total cost of ownership, while offering more. And that story is likely to only get better. So, without a doubt, the ID.3 should grow into a leadership role in Europe and easily surpass 100,000 sales a year.

Volkswagen ID.4

Europe has been shifting toward larger vehicles — SUVs and crossovers. The ID.4 should grow in popularity quickly and, with its highly competitive price for the range and specs, it should give the ID.3 a run for its money in the leadership position and should certainly be able to easily go beyond 100,000 sales per year.

Volkswagen ID.1

Volkswagen e-UP — Not the Volkswagen ID.1, but getting close — a VW e-up! Courtesy of Volkswagen.

Rumor of the Volkswagen ID.1 is buzzing, and, well, that should be a given. Volkswagen should be offering a small electric version of the Polo in its new generation of vehicles, and the Polo is the3rd best selling passenger vehicle in Europe, so the ID.1 should be competing with a podium position as well. When will the ID.1 arrive?

Renault ZOE

The vehicle between the Golf and the Polo on the list of top selling cars in Europe is the Renault Clio. Furthermore, the ZOE has been the top selling electric vehicle on the continent in most of the last decade. As it continues to improve and range increases, the ZOE should replace the Clio more and more. More than 230,000 Clios were sold in Europe in the first 10 months of the year, while the ZOE — the top selling EV in Europe — was at 73,403. It’s only a matter of time before the #1 ZOE passes 100,000 European sales in a year, and the more the company can fend off the competition and grow a backbone, the more likely it is to get to 100,000 relatively quickly.

Skoda Enyaq

Skoda just got the Enyaq to market, and it’s a little obscure to Americans because Skoda isn’t even a thing here, but I was impressed at its specs, size, feature, and price balance. The Skoda Octavia is in the top 10 overall, and while the Enyaq and Octavia are in different classes, I think the Enyaq has a brighter future and will pull over many previous-Octavia owners. Even in this poor year, the Octavia will have more than 200,000 sales in 2020. It’s only a matter of time before the Enyaq also passes that barrier.

Tesla Model 3

I don’t think much explanation is needed here. This is by far the top selling electric vehicle in the world, and is #2 in Europe. It’s not exactly on track to beat 100,000 sales in 2020, but there are still a ton of gas- and diesel-powered in its class that are ripe for picking and retiring.

Tesla Model Y

The Model Y is probably going to sell considerably better than the Model 3, due to much more storage, a preferred ingress and egress, the higher sitting position, and an overall preference now for its class of vehicle. Once the Model Y starts arriving in Europe, expect its numbers to rise rapidly.

Opel Corsa-e

The Opel Corsa-e is a decent electric car, but I didn’t put it on the list here for its tremendous value for the money. The tradeoff is currently moderate and there are more popular cars to buy (see above). However, the fossil-fueled Opel Corsa is the 6th best selling passenger vehicle in Europe. So, as technology keeps evolving, I expect to see the Corsa-e rising up in the ranks.

Peugeot e-208

Ditto for the e-208. The Peugeot 208 was the 7th best selling vehicles in the first 10 months of the 2020. So, while the e-208 had only about 25,000 sales in the first 10 months of 2020, I expect the e-208 to gradually rise up the rankings as tech improves, range increases, and cost drops in the coming year, like what I expect for the Corsa-e.

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Renault Captur EV

The Captur EV? Renault has other plans in place — a plug-in hybrid version of the Captur, for example. Eventually, though, Renault needs to fully electrify this important model or create a similar electric model. The Captur was the 9th best selling vehicle on the continent in December. It had more than 144,371 vehicles delivered. Create a bare-bones electric Captur EV and watch the sales roll in.

Any other notable models that should make the list today, in 3 years, in 5 years, or in 10 years? Any more creative ideas rather than simply cutting cops of popular fossil-fueled vehicles?

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