The Belgian automobile market has seen better days. Because despite the fleet market and the fact that companies are offering more and more company cars to their employees, sales are in decline. This does not prevent certain brands from being more successful than others.
In 2024, the favorite brand of Belgians was BMW, which establishes a certain continuity since the Bavarian manufacturer had also been first in class in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Better yet: in a declining market, BMW is even in growth since he now holds 11.42% market share against 10.4 in 2023.
The premium brand offers many electric cars in a market that loves premium and electric cars. A very good performance therefore, because at the end of the year it will be a record of 60,000 cars sold on the Belux market.
Other Germans
With 48,528 new car registrations recorded at the end of November, BMW is ahead of its German rivals Volkswagen (39,937 units and 9.36%) and Audi (31,394 units). Audi is clearly BMW’s ideal rival due to its premium status, but the brand with the rings is not doing so well since it recorded a decline of -6.53% in market share. And Mercedes did even worse with -10.01%.
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But what makes BMW successful? In reality, this performance is mainly due to the consistency of the current range which responds to market needs. Belgians appreciate premium while they can find both thermal cars with low CO2 emissions and a full range of electric cars in a market where the offer (mainly for families) is still too limited. Naturally, BMW products also fit perfectly into the needs of fleet market which still represents 60% of the annual market.
The sales performance of BMW electric models is also impressive since they even jumped in September (+62%). So much so that today, the accumulator vehicles weigh for 75% of Belgian sales from the mark to the propeller. And the X1 is the most requested model.
Stability
Another parameter which explains BMW’s performance also lies in the price stability. According to CEO Alexander Wehr, the policy in this matter is adequate with electric models accessible and whose prices do not experience significant increases or decreases, which also guarantees the resale valuea parameter that is complicated to say the least for electric cars.
That said, one thing has nevertheless changed since last October at BMW: prices which are no longer negotiable. BMW has therefore established a agency modellike at Stellantis and it is the brand that sells directly to the customer. And in this case, the dealers would also be very satisfied, which contrasts with the reality of the Italian-American group.
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