Belgium 2024. Auto Market In August Falls For The Sixth Consecutive Month

The Belgian auto market in August 2024 fell for the 6th month in a row, registering 28,580 new sales (-20.6%). YTD figures at 319,825 were down 2.8% compared to the prior year.

Looking at cumulative data up to August 2024 brand-wise, BMW secured 1st position with 35,003 sales (+0.2%), followed by Volkswagen with 28,828 units sold (-4.2%).

In third place ranked Audi -up 1 spot- with 26,841 sales (+15.5%) ahead of Mercedes -up 1 spot- with 23,049 registrations (-3.3%), Volvo -up 3 spots- at 18,336 (+22.7%), Toyota -up 3 spots- with 17,689 (-1%) and Dacia -up 1 spot- with 17,639 registrations (+15.6%).

Tesla grew 8 spots into 8th with 15,396 (53.4%) followed by Renault -down 3 spots- with 15,342 (-16.1%) and by Kia, in 10th place with 13,324 (+0.9%).

Looking at specific models, the BMW 4 Series became the new best seller, with a 1711.5% increase in year-on-year sales, overtaking the Tesla Model Y, down 1 spot (-0.8%).

Medium-Term Market Trend

The car passenger’s market in Belgium is a mature market, with high share taken by premium brands, and in the decade before covid era has been stable, oscillating around half million annual sales.

The arrival of the pandemic caused the market to collapse 21.5% in 2020. This fall in sales, would mark the Belgian market for the following years.

In fact auto sales continued to fall in 2021, dropping another 11.2%. Despite slowing down, the fall continued in 2022 with sales reaching 366,087 (-4.4%).

The continuous increase in vehicle prices is a main driver in the slowing down of sales, making it harder for lower income families to buy cars. Another factor that puts downward pressure on demand is the Eu’s push towards EVs, an expensive alternative to traditional combustion engine cars. Despite these factors, in 2023 the market boomed 30.1% respectively to the previous year, YTD figures at 476,462.