Registration of motor vehicles

Hybrid supplants petrol: 59% of cars sold in 2023 are hybrid or electric

Mobility
Hybrid supplants petrol: 59% of cars sold in 2023 are hybrid or electric

Within five years, electric and hybrid passenger cars have supplanted petrol cars in terms of market share. This is what emerged from the first provisional figures on the registration of motor vehicles compiled by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.

With a market share of 59% in 2023, hybrid and electric cars are the most popular new cars in Belgium. In 2019, they accounted for just 8% of sales. In 2023, out of a total of 481,079 cars sold, 284,608 are hybrid and electric cars. In 2019, the figure was 43,902 for a total of 557,970 cars sold.

In the face of hybrid and electric cars, the petrol car continues to lose ground, with a market share of 32% in 2023. This is a decrease of 18% compared to 2022 and of 47% compared to 2019.

The market share of new diesel cars has also sharply decreased to 8% in 2023, compared to 15% in 2022.

After three consecutive years of decline, 589,874 new vehicles were registered in Belgium. Among these, 481,079 are passenger cars. This is a 28% increase compared to the 374,597 passenger cars of 2022.

In 2023, there were almost two and a half times as many sales of strictly electric cars. 93,086 electric cars were sold in 2023, versus 37,760 in 2022.

Sales of new hybrid passenger cars (petrol or diesel + electric) increased by 44%, from 133,184 cars in 2022 to 191,522 in 2023.

In comparison, petrol car sales have only increased by 6%, with 154,056 cars in 2023 compared to 145,998 in 2022.

77% of newly registered hybrid and electric cars in 2023 are cars registered by enterprises, and 23% by individuals.

New vehicles
Content
Registration of new vehicles 1998 2010 2020 2021 2022 2023 Evolution 2023/2022
Total 549,172 642,086 550,668 506,131 470,735 589,874 +25.3%
Passenger vehicles 463,724 551,661 439,038 392,769 374,597 481,079 +28.4%
Buses and coaches 1,031 1,020 792 944 595 731 +22.9%
Commercial vehicles for the transport of goods (a) 54,711 56,793 75,810 75,786 59,619 71,153 +19.3%
Tractors (b) 5,495 3,409 3,311 4,278 5,253 6,088 +15.9%
Agricultural tractors 2,944 2,860 4,990 5,709 5,108 4,949 -3.1%
Motorcycles (‌c) 21,267 26,343 26,727 26,645 25,563 25,874 +1.2%
(a) Lorries, delivery vans, cross-country vehicles and tank vehicles.
(b) Tractors are commercial motor vehicles coupled to a semi-trailer (vehicle without front axle).
(c) All motorcycles driving 40km/h or faster. That is all motorcycles and most mopeds.
(d) Remark: The high number of registrations of second-hand agricultural tractors in 2014 is due to the introduction of the red G number plate (re-registration of agricultural tractors)
https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/route/immatriculer-et-radier/immatriculer…
Source: Statbel (Statistics Belgium) based on administrative sources.
Second-hand
Content
Registration of second-hand vehicles* 1998 2010 2020 2021 2022 2023 Evolution 2023/2022
Total 755,199 776,324 792,440 844,333 763,297 808,284 +5.9%
Passenger vehicles 677,272 676,572 668,465 714,868 650,687 693,208 +6.5%
Buses and coaches 1,137 768 848 803 1,243 1,066 -14.2%
Commercial vehicles for the transport of goods (a) 66,048 87,584 110,480 114,647 98,108 101,502 +3.5%
Tractors (b) 4,698 3,568 4,630 5,030 4,872 4,183 -14.1%
Agricultural tractors 6,044 7,832 8,017 8,985 8,387 8,325 -0.7%
(a) Lorries, delivery vans, cross-country vehicles and tank vehicles.
(b) Tractors are commercial motor vehicles coupled to a semi-trailer (vehicle without front axle).
(d) Remark: The high number of registrations of second-hand agricultural tractors in 2014 is due to the introduction of the red G number plate (re-registration of agricultural tractors)
* Specialized vehicles not included.
https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/route/immatriculer-et-radier/immatriculer…
Source: Statbel (Statistics Belgium) based on administrative sources.

Purpose and brief description

This statistic provides an overview of all new and second-hand motor vehicles in Belgium that were registered with the Vehicle Registration Service (D.I.V.) of the FPS Mobility in a certain period.

Population

Motor vehicles

Data collection method and sample size

Administrative data

Periodicity

Annually.

Release calendar

Results available 1 month after the reference period.

Definitions

Vehicle types: passenger cars, buses and coaches, lorries, tractors, agricultural tractors, specialized vehicles, motorcycles

Commercial vehicles for the transport of goods: Lorries, delivery vans, cross-country vehicles and tank vehicles.

Fuel type: petrol, diesel, gas, electricity

Tractors are commercial motor vehicles coupled to a semi-trailer (vehicle without front axle).

Specialized vehicles are slow vehicles whose dimensions and weight exceed the established maximum limits. The maximum authorized weight in Belgium is 44 tonnes. Vehicles of this category may therefore only be used on public roads under strict conditions.

All motorcycles driving 40km/h or faster. That is all motorcycles and most mopeds.

Remarks

The high number of registrations of second-hand agricultural tractors is due to the introduction of the red G number plate (re-registration of agricultural tractors)

https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/route/immatriculer-et-radier/immatriculer/immatriculer-un-tracteur-ou-vehicule-agricole-ou

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