Last year, 366,303 new passenger cars were registered in Belgium, down 4.39% from 2021, according to statistics published by FPS Mobility and Transport and automotive federation Febiac.
In 2019, before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in Belgium, 550,003 new passenger cars were registered in the country. In 2020, this dropped to 431,491. In 2021, this drop even further to 383,123 new passenger cars.
Last year, new car registrations hit record lows- only 366,303 now cars were registered in Belgium. This is the lowest level in 27 years. The last time new car sales were this low was in 1995, when 358,868 new cars were sold in Belgium.
Despite the record low sales of vehicles in the country, the last five months of last year saw consecutive rises in the number of new car registrations. In December, 25,584 new vehicles were registered, accounting for an increase of 20.65% compared to the same period in 2021.
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This spike is still not enough to overcome the drop in sales from previous months. This is primarily a consequence of production shortfalls. The car industry has struggled with massive delays in the delivery of new cars, partly as a result of a microchip shortage which has plagued the industry.
Nevertheless, there is light at the end of the tunnel, Febiac says. “On a positive note, the market has been recovering since August 2022 and the prospects for 2023 are good,” said spokesperson Christophe Dubon.
