Car sales in Belgium are getting back on their feet steadily, as registrations are up again in November by +23,4%, according to the latest figures of Febiac, the Belgian car importers federation. And among them, BMW can set up a party, as it leads the rankings both in car sales and motorbike sales, which is quite unusual for a premium brand.

Nevertheless, although November 2022 seems to stand out again with 29 778 cars sold in total, +23,4% compared to November 2021, it is still -5,8% lower than the 33 233 cars sold in the last ten years in a November month, if you calculate the average.

Company cars

Belgium, where up to 60% of new cars registered are company cars, is quite an exception, with premium brands like BMW, Mercedes, and Audi being favorites among those who can afford them to choose from. In other markets, it’s more common to see high-volume brands like Volkswagen, Toyota, Peugeot, or Renault take the lead.

Not in Belgium, where Volkswagen comes second-best after eleven months in 2022, after BMW sold a total of 37 184  cars in Belgium, compared to 32 688 for VW. That’s 10,25% of the market, compared to 9,01%.

The other premium brands try to keep up, like Mercedes, fourth before Peugeot (27 557 ) after 11 months with 27 451 cars registered, and Audi in fifth place (24 309). The latter three brands each represent just above 7% of the market.

Private car owners hesitate

It confirms the trend that sales of private cars are stalling as people are looking expectantly at the evolution of today’s much more expensive EVs and the looming ban in Europe on vehicles with a combustion engine (ICE) in 2035.

On the smaller motorbike markets, November 2022 was a perfect month, with sales rising by 25,3% compared to the same month last year. In the previous eleven months, sales declined by 4,11% compared with 2021.

BMW Motorrad outperforms in November its competitors, Yamaha and Honda. In this year’s total, Honda (3 116 motorcycles registered) jumps over BMW (3 093), which comes in second before Yamaha (2 580). Among them, these three brands represent nearly 40% of the Belgian market. Also, in the Netherlands, BMW leads the pack in motorcycles.