The FPS Mobility and Transport and the sector federation, Febiac, have indicated that sales of cars have had an excellent 2017 in Belgium. Registrations of new cars increased by 1.3% to 546,558 vehicles. The year 2016 now no longer has a podium position. Only 2011 and 2010 out-performed last year in the sector. However, December was more sluggish for the sector, with a drop in sales of 16.3%.
Over the last 12 months, Renault has remained the brand with the highest sales in Belgium, with sales of 50,949 vehicles (a drop of 8.81% on 2016). This is a market share of 10.36%. Volkswagen (VW) has achieved second place with 50,461 cars (a drop of 4.83%) whilst BMW’s position on the podium is unchanged with 42,176 vehicles (an increase of 4.85%). Next come Peugeot and Opel. The number of new commercial vehicles has also increased in 2017, respectively by 12% for those under 3.5 tonnes, by 3.6% for those under 16 tonnes and by 3.9% for those over 16 tonnes.
It was, however, a mixed year for motorised two-wheeled vehicles. The federation and the FPS Mobility and Transport qualify, “Although the ‘gross’ result shows a decline of 12.8%, a more in-depth analysis of this segment mainly attributes this decline to the growth of quad bike sales. This includes a large proportion, which are now being registered as agricultural tractors. In addition the registrations of 125 cc bikes and maxi scooters, have largely suffered due to the bad weather over the past year.” They go on, “If we were to remove these two categories of results, the decline in the motorcycle market is limited to less than 2% compared to 2016.”
The Brussels Times
