For the third year running BMW has topped new car sales in Belgium, in fact the only country in which the Bavarian automobile manufacturer tops the sales list.
The achievement has been hailed by the company as a resounding achievement that makes Belgium "unique" in its global market. It was a stellar year for BMW, thanks in no small part to performance in Belgium. By the end of 2023, the company expects to have sold around 56,000 units – well ahead of second-place Volkswagen and third-place Mercedes.
"Our previous sales record was 50,011 units, in 2017. This year we did 15% better," the company's CEO for Belgium and Luxembourg Alexander Wehr told l'Echo.
The result might come as a surprise, given that the German brand wouldn't normally be considered a "people's car" but rather a premium brand. Wehr puts the success down to the broad range of options, with its most popular models such as the X3 available in electric, hybrid, and combustion engines.
In total, BMW offered 18 electric models in 2023, which the company says is more than any other brand. Electric vehicles accounted for over 50% of sales. Only Tesla does better in the Belgian electric market.
Navigating tax incentives
The key to BMW's success lies in Belgium's advantageous company car sector, which enjoys a significant tax reduction and means that Belgium has an exceptionally high proportion of company vehicles – often of a much higher spec than if consumers were buying the cars themselves.
For company cars, electric vehicles accounted for 70% of BMW sales. Febiac, the national federation for automobiles, calculates that approximately two in every three new vehicles sold in Belgium is a véhicle d'entreprise rather than under private ownership.
Furthermore, Belgium's financing structure for company vehicles also makes higher-end brands more attainable. This is thanks to the leasing system, by which companies effectively rent a vehicle for a three to four -year period (typically). As a result, more expensive models are brought within reach of more motorists.
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De Standaard highlights how this quirk of Belgian vehicle sales can in fact mean that more expensive cars are more favourable. For instance, leasing a car that costs €70,000 but is expected to sell for €40,000 after four years will be cheaper than a car that costs €60,000 new but sells for only €25,000 after four years.
On the first car, €30,000 remains to be paid off during the lease, while on the second car it is €35,000. As a premium brand, the residual value for BMWs is higher than for other brands. Mobility expert Jochen De Smet explains to De Standaard that this is mainly to do with reputation – "a Japanese car will be no more worn out after four years than a German one," he says.
