Slovenian Car Market in 2025 is picking up speed. YTD sales up to November grew by 7.6%, with Skoda rising 15% and threatening leader Volkswagen while Ford secured a spot in the Top 10.
Economic Environment
Slovenia’s economic outlook points to a gradual recovery, with GDP growth projected at 1.0% in 2025, strengthening to 2.4% in 2026 and 2.6% in 2027, supported by domestic demand and a recovery in exports. Private consumption remains the main growth driver, aided by rising wages, a tight labour market, and additional income measures, while investment is expected to recover as uncertainty eases and EU-funded public investment remains elevated. The labour market is set to stay tight, with unemployment at historically low levels around 3.4–3.5%, despite only modest employment growth driven largely by foreign workers.
Inflation, after easing in 2024, is projected to remain elevated but gradually moderate from 2.5% in 2025 to just above 2% by 2027, reflecting persistent food, services, and energy price pressures. Fiscal balances are expected to deteriorate, with the general government deficit rising from 0.9% of GDP in 2024 to 2.5% by 2027 due to higher current spending, public sector wage reforms, long-term care costs, and green transition subsidies. Despite widening deficits, public debt is projected to decline steadily from 66.6% of GDP in 2024 to about 63% by 2027, supported by favourable interest-growth dynamics.
Automotive Industry Trend and Outlook
The Slovenian car market started the year off strong in terms of year-on-year growth and accelerated throughout the months. Peaking in Q4, YTD sales up to November grew 7.6% to 52,638 units
Brand-wise, the leader remained Volkswagen with a 15.8% share (+12.3%), followed by Skoda -up 1 spot- with 11.3% (+15%) and Renault -down 1 spot- with 10.5% (+0.3%).
Hyundai -up 2 spots- ranked in 4th (+18%), followed by Toyota -down 1 spot- in 5th (-4.8%).
Looking at specific model the Renault Clio was still at the top, growing 12.1%. The Skoda Octavia followed in 2nd (+4.6%( while the Renault Captur (+7.7%) ranked 3rd
EV Market Trend and Outlook
Slovenia’s effort to support EV adoption are slowly paying off, with a 100.5% increase in sales to a 12% share. The surge was driven, among other things, to partnerships with local municipalities aimed at expanding charging networks
Tesla led EV rankings while growing 4.8%, followed by Dongfeng in 2nd which skyrocketed 20 spots and eyes top spot.
Medium-Term Market Trend
The Slovenian auto market has experienced significant volatility in recent years. Passenger car demand fluctuated between 48,000 and 60,000 units from 2010 to 2015, before gaining momentum in 2016 and surpassing 60,000 sales, ending the year at 63,563. The upward trend continued, peaking at an all-time high of 81,473 registrations in 2018, before momentum stalled in 2019 with sales broadly flat at 81,420 units.
The pandemic severely disrupted the market in 2020, when lockdowns across Europe led Slovenian passenger car sales to plunge 26.8% to 59,621 units. A modest recovery followed in 2021, with sales rising 5.5%, but the rebound proved short-lived as 2022 volumes fell 14.2% to 46,111 units. Industry headwinds, including global supply chain disruptions, particularly microchip shortages, and government policies promoting electric vehicles, continued to weigh on demand.
In 2024, the market showed renewed signs of recovery, with passenger car sales increasing 6.5% to 52,044 units.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.
