Belux car registrations seriously down (-15.2%) in November

According to the sector federation Febiac and the Federal Government service Mobility and Transport, the car registrations for November were 15.2% down compared to last year in the same month. For the first eleven months of 2024, this results in -5.8% compared to 2023: 424,840 registrations instead of 450,960.

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations also regressed, but only by 3.8%, resulting in a cumulated -4.5% for the first eleven months. Heavier vehicles are still doing relatively well, especially those under 16 tons: +0.9% in November and +17.4% cumulated. Those weighing more than 16 tons regressed 19.3% in November and 10.5% over the first eleven months.

The two-wheeler market grew strongly in November: +107.3%, resulting in a cumulated result of +7.5%. The reason is obvious: next year, on January 1st, the new Euro 5+ standard comes into effect, and many ‘old’ Euro 5 motorbikes still have to be sold.

By brand

The top three in sales noticed some sales losses in November, but BMW (-15.3%) stays comfortably in the lead, followed by Volkswagen (-24%) and Mercedes (-32.2%). There are two newcomers for places four and five: Dacia (+20.6%) precedes its ‘big sister Renault’ by the smallest of margins (17 registrations more), but the latter increased its sales impressively: +50.3%.

Audi has fallen back to sixth place (-49.8%), while Peugeot is recovering slightly and comes seventh (+7%). Skoda (+10.5%) is number eight, followed by Tesla (+15.8%) and a receding Volvo (-20.3%). Toyota has stumbled out of the top ten (-25.4%) and is followed by Kia (-19.2%), Ford (-22.4%) and Hyundai (-31.5%).

The Stellantis brands, which had almost been blown away in the preceding months, are recovering: Citroën (15th) increases its sales by 31.6%, Opel (16th) scores +25.1%, Fiat (20th) grows 34.7%, and Jeep does +18.8%. Only Alfa Romeo (-2.4%) and DS (-14.4%) aren’t following the trend.

Other well-performing brands are Porsche (18th,+129.6%), BYD (21st, +395.7%), and Smart (36th, +155%). The actual arrival of Chinese competitors like Maxus (34th), XPeng (37th), and Leapmotor (39th) is noticeable.

Substantial losers in the lower regions are Mini (19th, -44.3%), Polestar (22nd, -56.1%), Land Rover (24th, -38.8%), Seat (25th, -55.2%), Cupra (26th, -49.5%), Mazda (27th, -66.6%), and MG (28th, -59.4%).

The worst figures were recorded for Honda (35th, -82.4%), Jaguar (40th, -70.7%), Subaru (44th, -73%), SsangYong(52nd, -92.7%), and Alpine (53rd, -72.7%) Brands like Fisker and Lynk & Co simply didn’t sell one car anymore.

First eleven months

BMW is still leading the pack with a market share of 11.4% (1% up), followed by Volkswagen (9.4% market share, -0.1%), Audi (7.4%), Mercedes (7.2%, -0.3%), and Volvo (5.6%, +1.2%). Number 6 is Toyota, with a 5.3% market share (up 0.3%), closely followed by Dacia (also 5.3%, +0.9%) and Renault (5.1%, -0.1%). Peugeot placed number 9 (4.8%, down from 6.3%), and Tesla closed the top ten with 4.6% (1.4% more market share than last year).

Remarkable climbers are BYD (+351.8% in sales, from 0.1 to 0.5% market share), Smart (+611% in sales, from almost zero to 0.2% market share), and Lotus (+116 in sales, 0.1% market share). Other noticeable climbers (but still with minimal absolute numbers) are Maxus (+1,158.3%), Tripod (+113.1%), Forthing (+809,1%), and BAIC (+54.7%). The absolute newcomers are Leapmotor and Lancia, which sold 62 and 53 cars in the first eleven months.