Higher incomes are going electric
Three Bentley Bentayga SUVs, which cost more than 200,000 euros each, 22 Teslas ranging from €50,000 to €100,000 depending on the model, and 78 Porsches (19 Taycans, 52 Cayennes and seven Panameras) with prices far exceeding €100,000 each, are included in the list of electric cars sold in Greece in 2020, according to the registration data Kathimerini has seen.
Many more luxury cars, either entirely electric or hybrid, are in that list too.
While sales of private passenger cars declined last year by 29% compared to 2019, sales of electric vehicles during 2020 were almost twice the sum of those sold over the previous five years. The government incentives combined with the broader consolidation of environmental sensitivities have helped this market outperform.
In total 2,131 electric vehicles were sold in Greece last year, of which 675 were purely electric (without an internal combustion engine) and 1,456 were hybrids. A significant share of those cars were super-luxury vehicles, such as Bentleys, Porsches, Teslas, as well as Mercedes, BMWs and Land Rovers.
The registration of electric vehicles included 52 Porsche Cayenne hybrids, 111 Range Rover BMW X5s, and 70 Mercedes GLCs.
Given that electric mobility incentives are offered for cars valued at up to €50,000, one can deduce the safe conclusion that higher incomes are increasingly shifting to electric vehicles, a car importer-representative with a significant portfolio in electric vehicle sales notes to Kathimerini.
The number of all cars sold last year (conventional vehicles included), dropped to 80,977 – i.e. 29% fewer than the 114,109 sold in 2019.
Notably, after the 22 Teslas sold in 2020, on Monday the US company launched its first supercharger terminal at the Golden Hall shopping center in Maroussi, northern Athens. Its six superchargers can recharge Model X, S and 3 cars within a few minutes instead of hours.
The vehicle automatically alerts the owner through the Tesla app when it has sufficient energy to continue its trip – usually no more than 80% of the battery is required. Three more such terminals will follow this year.
