CARBON COPY HYBRID HIKE SURPRISINGLY STRONG
The UK plans to essentially “copy and
paste” European Union regulations
on average carbon dioxide targets for
cars once the country fully leaves the
EU at the end of this year.
This plan means nothing will change
for carmakers on 1 January 2021,
when the transition period for Brexit
ends.
When a small majority of British voters
voted to leave the EU in 2016, they
did so in the hope of introducing
their own regulations, deviating
from those imposed by the rest of
Europe. However, car manufacturers
have since made it clear they do not
wish to adhere to a double set of
standards – one for the UK, one for
the European mainland.
Another obstacle to introducing British
regulations is to be found in Northern
Ireland, which continues to follow EU
single market rules under the terms of
the EU Withdrawal Agreement.
Carmakers will still face fines for every
gram of CO2 they exceed the 95
grams per kilometre limit, but it will
amount to £86 ($157 AUD) instead of
€95 ($174 AUD).
Sales of Volvo plug-in hybrids have
increased by close to 80%, putting the
carmaker well on its way to have its
electrified models account for 20% of all
global sales.
Volvo Cars’ global sales during the first six
months of 2020 fell by 20.8% to 269,962
cars, as governments in many key
markets such as China, US and Europe
implemented stay-at-home orders or
other restrictions on movement.
In spite of this fall, Volvo managed to
take market share in China, the US and
Europe, where Germany was among
the strongest performing markets. It also
saw an increase of 79.8% in demand for
its plug-in hybrid models sold under the
Volvo Recharge brand.
The company returned to sales growth in
China in the second quarter and made up
much of the ground lost in the first quarter,
as it recorded an overall sales drop of only
3.0% in the first half.
The US also returned to growth in June,
although sales fell by 13.7% year-on-year
in the first half, while sales in Europe were
29.5% lower during the six-month period.
“The downturn we saw in the first half
is a temporary one,” said Volvo’s Chief
Executive Håkan Samuelsson.
“We expect to see a strong recovery
in the second half of the year and our
Recharge range of electrified cars puts us
in a strong position to meet the emerging
trends we are seeing.”
New Zealand Motor Industry Association
Chief Executive David Crawford says
that July 2020 registrations came in at
3.1% over July 2019 with 12,263 vehicles
registered, up 366 units on the same
month this time last year.
“Year to date the market is down 24.8%
in a year that is heavily affected by the
Covid-19 pandemic which makes July
a surprisingly strong result given the
worldwide economic conditions,” he said.
“Sales of both passenger and commercial
vehicles were up on the same month in
2019.”
Across July there were 90 pure electric
vehicles, 69 PHEV’s and 1,045 hybrid
vehicles sold. The top three models for
the month were the Toyota RAV4 (796
units), followed by the Ford Ranger (781
units) with the Toyota Hilux in third place
(627 units).
“Returning cashed up Kiwi’s and
alternative spending to international travel
is thought to be
behind the July result,” Mr Crawford said.
“However, as the year progresses the
economic outlook is for a continuing
tightening market.”
30 ISSUE 24 AUGUST 2020 / WWW.AFMA.ORG.AU