According to the analysis of sector federations Febiac and Traxio, the Belgian car market saw 608,426 cars sold in the first half of 2025. 234,616 of them were new ones (-10.9%), 373,810 were second-hand (+0.9%). In both markets, electrification evolves further. BMW and Dacia are the winners when looking at the specific models.
With the new car registrations, we see a further restoration of the equilibrium between individually bought cars and the professional sector: 45.4% against 54.6%, respectively, where it was 38.4 versus 61.6% in 2024. Second-hand vehicles are primarily purchased by individuals (90.5%), whereas companies rarely buy second-hand (8.6% of the total market).
Energy type
Regarding all new cars registered, petrol cars remain the most popular (42.7% of all purchases). Still, battery electric cars (BEVs) are now the second largest group (32.8%, or a progress by 4.3 percentage points). A third winner was the so-called self-charging hybrid (HEV), which represents 11.7% of the market (2.5 percentage points higher). Diesels are rapidly disappearing from the market (3.4% market share, 1.5 percentage points lower), and plug-in hybrids are also quickly losing ground (8.5% market share, 6.4 percentage points down).
Looking at second-hand sales, petrol cars remain by far the most popular (55.8% of the market, +4.4 percentage points), diesel still represents 27.4% but loses ground (-3.2 percentage points). Hybrids (HEV and PHEV) now represent 12.7% of the total market (+2.1 percentage points), BEVs only 3.9% (+0.7 percentage points).
Looking at the owner type, individual buyers of new cars still prefer petrol (63.8%), while hybrid cars (HEVs) are now second with 18.1% market share. Fully electric vehicles are growing, but remain relatively small with 8.9%.
Looking at the professional market, we see that 52.8% of the new cars are purely electric, followed by petrol cars (25.1%), PHEVs (12.1%), and HEVs (6.4%). Diesel remains at 3.5%.
Most popular makes and models
All types of drive together, the BMW X1 is the most popular car in Belgium and was sold 9,041 times in the first half of the year. Second was the Dacia Sandero, third the Citroën C3, fourth the Dacia Duster, and fifth the Toyota Yaris.
If you look at the single drive mode, the Sandero is number one because it only has a petrol-fueled engine and sold 6,263 times, while the BMW X1 exists as a BEV, PHEV, and petrol or diesel car. The Sandero is also the most popular car for individual buyers, while the BMW is by far the most popular in the professional segment.
In the second-hand market, BEVs are still scarce but growing. In the professional part of it, the Porsche Taycan is the most popular second-hand buy, followed by the Tesla Model 3 and the Tesla Model Y. Looking at individual buyers, number one is the Tesla Model 3, followed by the Fiat e500 and the Tesla Model Y.
