The registrations of new cars in Belgium and Luxembourg increased for the eighth consecutive month. With 51 754 cars registered, it is an increase of 39,9% compared to 2022 and the best month of March since pre-corona 2019, when almost 55 000 cars got registered.

The increase is noticeable in the professional (fleet) and individual buyers market. For the first quarter of 2023, 131 484 registrations mean a 27,5% increase compared to 2022.

Other categories

When we look at light commercial vehicles, there’s also an increase, for the third consecutive month, of 19,5% compared to 2022. So the whole first quarter adds up to a rise of 18,4% (17 865 vehicles registered).

The same positive tendency is noticed when one looks at heavy vehicles. Under 16 tons scores +19,1% in March; 16 tons or more goes up by 4,6%. For the first quarter of 2023, this adds up to +20,7% and +12,9%, respectively.

New two-wheeler registrations, on the contrary, decreased by 7,3%. Importer federation Febiac sees the absence of two-wheelers at the January Brussels Motor Show as a reason for this. However, whether the increase in car registrations in March is also due to this first live motorshow in three years is not mentioned.

By brand

With such an increase in overall sales, there are almost no losers in March. BMW leads the pack again, increasing its March sales by 54,9% compared to 2022, with almost 10,4% market share. Volkswagen stays second, but at a distance despite a 32,5% sales increase. Peugeot (+41,9%) is third, Mercedes (+16,8%) receded to fourth place, while Audi (+13,8%) takes fifth place.

Renault (+57,9%) is recovering and back in sixth place, while its low-cost daughter Dacia continues its impressive growth (+117,4%), obtaining eighth place. In between is a striking newcomer: with 3 045 registrations in March, Tesla increased its sales by 164,1%.

Volvo (+47%, ninth place) did well, and Opel (+33,4%) closed the top ten. With a sales increase of ‘only’ 12,7%, Toyota scored less than the months before and left the top ten (eleventh place).

Other impressive climbers are Skoda (+78,2%, 13th), Mini (+73%,18th), Seat (+51,4%, 19th), and, especially, MG (+1472,1%, 20th). Land Rover grew 81,7%, Mazda 47,1%, Suzuki 104,5%, Cupra 289,2%, Alfa Romeo 134,4%, and Lynk & Co 127,4%, but we’re talking much smaller numbers here.

In a booming market, the regress of Citroën (-13,1%) and Honda (-55,8%) is noticeable, but even more striking is the continuing fall of Lexus (-43,4%) and the fact that Polestar is registering a relapse (-36,8%). At the same time, Tesla has climbed to unparalleled heights.

We see the same top five looking at the figures for the entire first quarter of 2023, but Toyota stays in 6th place, preceding Renault, Volvo, Dacia, and Opel. The sales jump of Tesla in March resulted in a 13th spot.

All-in-all, these figures show us that the professional market remains strong (BMW, Mercedes, and Audi in the top five, Tesla coming in at seventh place) but that individual buyers have been spending money, too, this time, with brands like Peugeot, Renault, Opel, Ford, Nissan, and Mazda in the up, and particularly Dacia beating record after record.