Traxio: ‘Belgian second-hand car market stable in Q1 2025’

In March 2025, 40,184 new passenger cars were registered –10% fewer than in the same month last year. The decline continued throughout the first quarter, from -13% in January to -8.1% in February.

It is striking that the share of private buyers in the first quarter was approximately 10% higher than last year, possibly due to the impact of the car show promotions.

Second-hand market

On the other hand, the second-hand market is holding up (-0.1% in March 2025) and rising slightly (+0.4%) compared to the same period in 2024. The second-hand market remains substantially more prominent than the new car market. The ratio remains 60/40, identical to last year.

BMW remains the market leader for new cars, followed by Volkswagen and Mercedes. Volkswagen remains the most popular used brand, followed by BMW and Mercedes. So, the brands in the top 3 stay the same, but the order differs.

One in three electric

The share of fully electric cars is increasing, especially in the new vehicle market. In the first quarter, one in three newly registered cars was electric, compared to less than a quarter in the same period last year.

In the second-hand market, the share of EVs remains limited at just under 4% for the time being. However, growth is also visible here: +46.6% in March 2025 compared to March 2024.

Speed pedelecs still popular

There is also some movement in the bicycle market. In January and February, registrations of new and second-hand speed pedelecs increased, but in March, the market declined (-14.4% for new speed pedelecs and -2.1% for used ones). 

This meant a decrease in new speed pedelecs (-1.4%) and an increase in second-hand ones (5%) for the first quarter. However, the sector remains confident because interest in the fast bicycle remains very high.