According to data from the sector federation Febiac and the federal public service Mobility & Transport, December was a very good month (+23.2%) for new car registrations, limiting the decrease for the whole year compared to 2024 to -7.5%.

In 2025, 414,770 new cars were registered in Belgium and Luxembourg, 33,507 fewer than last year, a decrease of 7.5%. In December, 28,877 new cars were registered, 5,440 more than in the same month the previous year. Some people have probably already anticipated a buy because many brands already offer ‘salon conditions’ with the Brussels Motor Show starting next Saturday.

LCVs saw a 5.8% decline in December, but sales increased by 7.6% for the whole year of 2025. Heavier trucks under 16 tons sold 48.4% better in December (YOY), limiting the year-over-year decrease to -3.5%. The same happened for the 16 tons and more, where 47.7% more vehicles were sold in December, reducing the decline for the whole year in 2025 to -2.6%.

December is always a bad month to sell two-wheelers, still the contrast with December 2025 is obvious: -59.3%. This has only one reason: at the end of last year, people were still hurrying to buy a bike that didn’t have to comply with the new Euro 5+ standard. For the whole year of 2025, 12.2% fewer new two-wheelers were registered than in 2024.

By make

Top 40 in December

As already mentioned, BMW stays the market leader in the Belux for the 5th consecutive year, with BMW Group Belux putting the icing on its score with a 45.4% sales increase in December compared to last year.

The number two, Volkswagen, lost a bit of sales (-5.5%) compared to last year, but the big surprises in December came from the far east. Out of the blue, Hyundai takes third place with an impressive 265.6% sales increase. Audi follows in fourth place and sees its sales grow by 48.2%, while Renault (fifth) loses 6.9% in sales in December (YOY).

Mercedes is sixth, up 32.1%, but the big surprise comes in seventh place: Chinese MG (SAIC), up 938.7%. Skoda occupies eighth place, Peugeot is ninth, and Tesla manages to close the top 10 tanks with a much lower decrease in sales than in the previous months: ‘only’ -28.2%.

Other brands with big sales jumps in December are Volvo (11th, +96.8%), Land Rover (15th, +366.5%), Mini (18th, +68.4%), Suzuki (19th, +231%), Nissan (21st, +44.5%), Mazda (23rd, +78.2%, Jeep (30th, +63.5%), Honda (32nd, +150%), KG Mobility (34th, +236.7%), Alfa Romeo (35th, +176.5%), and DS (38th, +133.3%). Of course, from places 21 to 40, we’re talking about fewer than 500 to fewer than 50 cars sold.

Special attention to the growth of the Chinese makes: Chinese number two on the Belux market, sees its sales once again almost double in December (22nd, +96.4%), Leapmotor climbs to 26th place with a 721.7% sales increase, Lynk & Co arrives on the market again (directly 29th place), Xpeng (33rd) grows by 130.6%, newcomers Omoda and jaecoo take 35th and 39th place, respectively. From the Chinese brands, only Polestar (27th, -10.4%) and Smart (40th, -20.5%) perform worse than last year.

There aren’t many big losers in December, but Dacia (12th) surprises with a sales decrease of 52.1%, Toyota (14th) loses 26.1%, and Porsche (25th) declines by 39.9%.

December 2025 has been a very unusual month in car sales, with makes booking incredible gains (or a few losses), signaling special offers or other factors to explain the sometimes-exaggerated jumps. That’s why it is better to focus on cumulative results for the whole year to see trends.

Top 40 in 2025

As already mentioned, BMW remains by far the number one on the Belgian market in 2025, retaining 10.8% of the market share despite a sales decrease of 11.3%. Volkswagen stays second, with a 9.4% market share, almost the same as last year, despite an 8.4% sales decrease.

Mercedes also lost a little bit of sales (-3.5%) but increased its market share to 7.4%. The third premium make in the top five, Audi, saw its sales decrease by 14% and its market share fall back to 6.8% (from 7.3% in 2024).

For fifth place on the Belux market, there was a battle between mother and daughter, Renault and Dacia, won by the daughter, with some 380 Dacias more sold than Renaults. Dacia thus scores 6.2% market share in fifth place, Renault has 6.1% share and detains sixth place.

After many months of decreases, Peugeot scrambled back to seventh place and saw its sales rise 9% and its market share grow from 4.9% (an all-time low) to 5.8%. Toyota stays eighth with 4.5% market share, but with a 20.3% sales decrease. Skoda is ninth with 4.2% market share, and Volvo still manages to stay in the top ten despite a 32.3% sales decrease and a market share decline from 5.4% to 4%.

While Kia (11th) lost sales (-12.5%), Hyundai (12th) won 18.1%, bringing both members of the Hyundai Group closer together with 3.7% and 3.5% market share, respectively. Also noticeable: Mini (18th) sold 30% more cars and increased its market share from 1.3% to 1.8%.

In 2024, Tesla (15th) still held 4.7% market share and was flirting with the top 10; in 2025, the American brand lost 53.1% in sales and tumbled back to 2.4% market share. Other significant losers are Porsche (23rd, -23.4% in sales), Mazda (26th, -42.6% in sales), Seat (27th, -35.8%), DS (35th, -17.1%), and Smart (38th, -35.3%).

The breakthrough of the Chinese brands on the Belux market has been confirmed and strengthened in 2025, despite the European tariff augmentation. Number one Chinese brand, MG, has entered the top 20, and at 19, it already holds 1.4% of the market. BYD (22nd place) is coming closer and now already holds 1.1% of the market. Polestar (28th) saw its overall sales increase by 21.2% and now represents 0.7% of the market.

The other Chinese brands are very new on the market and register, of course, spectacular growth figures, but the absolute numbers remain humble. The real breakthrough is probably coming in 2026 for makes like XPeng (33rd), Leapmotor (34th), Jaecoo (37th), and Omoda (39th).

Last but not least, we see the third brand of the Renault Group, Alpine, entering the top 40, having sold 183.6% more cars than in 2024 (431 units instead of 152). The venue of the all-electric A290 is, of course, the reason; the French now hold their breath to see what the A390 will do and also the all-electric new A110 sports car arrive.