Lotus Sales : 2023-25

Lotus Cars has always been a problem child. The issue hasn't been the product. Far from it. It's been about profitability or the lack of. 

Current owners are Geely (51%) and Etika Automotive (49%), a Chinese-Malaysian collaboration.

The current range consists of the Eletre and Emeya electric SUV/GT,  made in China. The petrol powered Emira and limited volume electric Evija sports cars, made in the UK. 

To the right we can see the last three years of sales. Things took off in 2023 and continued through 2024. By 2025, orders had been met and a return to relative normality.

A hybrid version of the Eletre SUV is planned for 2026 and that should noticeably lift sales. A hybrid Emira and a smaller SUV are planned for 2027. 

Now looking at models, or more precisely. the two segments they reside in. The Car/SUV grouping is up from 57% to 70%. Both are down in volume and combined that is -46%. 

The sports car side of the business basically revolves around one model and therefore is going to boom with a new model and then fall away to something more reflective of true demand.

As for regions, China has emerged as the largest for Lotus sales, with 45% of the total. It's also the only region that increased. It would be safe to assume that the Car/SUV models would be the main cars sold there, while the sports cars are the more popular elsewhere. 

Data and photo source: Lotus Cars. 

Photos (from the top). Eletre, Emira, Evija and Emeya.

Audi Global Deliveries : 2024-25

Audi has been cutting back on volume for a few years now. 1.895 million in 2023, 1.671 million in 2024 and 1.624 million by the end of 2025. 

As we can see to the right, there have been decreases for seven consecutive quarters. 2023 was all quarterly increases. 

Then in Q4 2025 a 3% gain. Deliveries were down 3% for the year. We will have to see if the volume reductions have finished or not. 

Regions: 'Others' are up 7% and Europe managed a 1% uplift but China was off 5% and and North America -16%. China did better than I expected and the USA worse.  

Models: For the 2025 calendar year, Audi has stopped reporting deliveries by model. Instead, they have gone for an almost useless three segment style. Often cut backs in detail come when things aren't going so well. 

Data & photo source: Audi.

Lamborghini Global Deliveries : 2024-25

Things are going well for Lamborghini. Up 10% in 2023, up 6% in 2024. Down in 2025 by 1% but in the current climate a good result. 

Looking to the chart to the right, we see the last two years in quarters. The only negative would be the trend downward over the middler two quarters. 

The light at the end of the tunnel was that Q4 2024 wasn't that strong and Q4 2025 beat that by 15%. That left the total up by 1%. 

Models: Urus deliveries were 7,808 (+38%), Revuelto was 2,096 (+48%) and the Huracán 843 (-77%). The Urus contributed 73% of the total. The Temerario is replacing the Huracán in 2026. 

Regions: Europe has moved up to 12% of total deliveries. The US and China are both down but with China not being a major market for the marque saved Lamborghini going into negative territory.

I've never really understood the popularity Lamborghini. Clearly, many see it differently. It certainly has a uniqueness of overstated styling although the new Temerario (photo below) looks more conservative. 

Data source: Audi. Photo source: Lamborghini.

Operating income dropped to €768 million from €835 million in 2024, representing a fall of 24% profitability. Lamborghini said it was impacted by US tariffs, negative exchange rate fluctuations, and EV strategy adjustments. Hopefully, 2026 will have less disruptions but already that looks unlikely. 

Bentley Global Deliveries : 2024-25

Bentley cars have always been and still are known as high-performance, luxury vehicles that are well-crafted, powerful but still retaining a classic elegance. I should have a job at Bentley's media centre. 

After years of exceptional growth, the last couple of years have seen reduced volumes. The heights they reached were probably not sustainable and the current levels are.

After nine consecutive quarters of a reduced number of deliveries, Q3 2025 saw a healthy 24% increase on what was an admittedly poor Q3 2024. Q4 was down 11% and for the complete year -5%. Bentley ended up with an operating profit of €216 million. All things the car industry is facing, it was a good result. 

Bentley does anticipate a sales increase due to the release of redesigned, high-performance hybrid models of the Continental GT and Flying Spur. However, the current and future focus is on "value over volume".

Models: Continental GT deliveries were 4,567 (+22%), the Bentayga was 3,628 (-17%) and the Flying Spur 1,936 (-24%). The Continental GT contributed 45% of the total, the Bentayga 36% and the Flying Spur 19%. 

Regions: The big improver here was Europe, up from 25% to 30% of total deliveries. The USA is slightly down and now below Europe in terms of volume importance. China is off by nearly a quarter and 'Others' are -10%. 

Data source: Audi. Photo source: Bentley. 

Aston Martin Global Deliveries : 2022-25

Aston Martin is a marque of distinction, not hurt by its connection with the most famous of secret agents. It has also been a company that historically found profitability to be elusive.

A car company that low volume and labour intensive needs to charge for the exclusivity and quality. There are only so many people buying such cars and there are several companies vying for the same customers.

To the right are quarterly deliveries for the past four years. They have been very consistent with Q4 always giving an upward spike in volume. 

2025 was no exception although the last two quarters were down the most. Aston Martin is focused on a sound business model rather than chasing volume to look good. That's the challenge. 

Regions: All the regions are down with Asia/Pacific being the largest amount. China would be the main reason, but relying on that market is increasingly challenging for many reasons. Aston Martin has to deal with tariffs and consumption taxes that exist around the world and these are getting worse, not better. 

Every country claims to be a champion of fair trade but for many countries it is nothing more than hypocritical posturing. Sometimes trade has to be regulated to balance the books but at other times manipulated to selfishly generate large trade surpluses. This is something that hurts companies like Aston Martin.  

 

Models: All models had similar falls in volume. 152 units of the Valhalla were delivered in Q4 of 2025 and hopefully a further 500 in 2026. The Vanquish Volante, DBX S, Vantage S and Volante 60th Anniversary models are all now available. The DB12 S is planned for the first half of 2026. Plenty of things happening then. 

Škoda Global Deliveries : 2023-25

Škoda was founded 130 years ago in 2025. It was taken over by VW gradually from 1991 to 2000. It was then transformed into the successful brand it is today.

Škoda deliveries were up 13% in 2025. The main market is Germany and as Škoda is owned by VW, that's something that isn't lost on the car buyer there. The home market is next, followed by the UK. Deliveries in India have been moving up quickly and is now the fourth country on the list. 

Data & photo source: Škoda.

Regions. The reliance on Europe is clearly shown, with 82% of the total sales from there. 

Slovenia Passenger Car Sales : 2025

Formerly part of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Slovenia is known for its beautiful scenery, the architecture in the capital Ljubljana and for wine production. I've not been there but I'd like to visit. 

For 2025 passenger car sales were up 8% and compared to the average over the previous five years, up 12%. I usually do a previous ten year comparison, but I believe the source's counting system changed in 2019.  

Volkswagen overtook Renault in 2014 and remained at the top ever since. In recent times, Škoda has been swapping second spot with Renault and in 2025 is won that duel for now.

For 2024 articles, simply click on the links below:

By brand. 

Top 50 Models.

 

Data source: ADS. Photos Škoda above (Fabia) & Dacia models below. 

Mercedes-Benz Vans Global Deliveries : 2023-2025

It seems an odd fit for the premium marque M-B to also have a van range but they do and it is successful. Their brief foray into pick up trucks was a spectacular flop so they retreated back to what does work for them. 

M-B actually made the first working van in 1896. The modern day van range started with the L 319 in 1956. So vans are part of M-B's DNA.

On to recent history. In 2023, wholesale deliveries were up 10 to 447,790. 2024 reached 405,610 units but that represented a drop of 9%. 2025 recorded an 11% reduction in deliveries. 

Regions: Europe (without Germany) is down 13% and Asia (without China) is up 12%. North America (-28%) and China (-25%) have pulled things down. When combined, 70% of sales are Europe/Germany.  

Van classed as commercial vehicles account for 83% of the volume and passenger vans 17%. The Sprinter contributed 189,000 sales to the total, the Vito/V-Class 140,600 and the Titan/T-Class 29,700.  M-B is to end the Titan/T-Class range in 2026 and focus on the more profitable larger vans. 

Electric van sales came to 27,488 units in 2025, up 46%. That is still just 7.7% of total van deliveries but at least they are improving. 

Conclusion: M-B has a strong brand image and the van range does that no harm at all. Moving away from small vans is a smart move, something the company is also doing with its car range.  

Data & photos: M-B. For passenger cars, simply click here.

Mercedes-Benz PC Global Deliveries : 2023-25

M-B has two divisions, Car and Van. Here we consider the former and the van article comes next. How is M-B managing in a somewhat volatile environment?

To the right, there is a chart showing quarterly wholesale delivery figures. Quarterly volumes don't vary much at all. 

In 2023, it was the same as 2022 with slowish start and moderately successful second half. In 2024, a similar pattern but this time a -3% total.

For 2025, a different trend, one reflected in many car companies. That is an acceleration of fewer deliveries. This led to a -9% end of year result. Time to break it down further.

M-B divides model deliveries into three main categories, Entry, The Top End is holding up best and it's the most profitable segment, therefore not so bad.

The Entry and Core models were both down 10%. Mercedes is moving away from lower priced models to focus on its higher margin cars to increase profitability. I never understood why they ever went to the lower end of the premium market.

Region: Only the 'Rest' is up, 17%. Germany is too but still registered a zero. Europe (less Germany) is down ever so slightly at -2%,. 

Asia (less China) -6%. North America is down 12% but the real negative is China (-19%). No surprise with the latter and maybe a good thing too.

Moving on to electric and hybrid cars. The chart to the right shows the last thee years. They were up 9% in 2023, down 9% in 2024 and the same in 2025.  

Planning ahead for this area of the market has not been easy. Their adoption hasn't been as great as expected and incentives come and go.

For 2025, hybrids were up 9% to 199,877 but cars that are fully electric are down 9% to 168,823. 

Many car companies have pulled back on how much they commit to this area, both in model development and production levels. Financial returns are not good enough in this area to justify it. 

In conclusion, M-B is in the same situation as many other car makers. Volumes are down and there is a trend to move more up market. Chinese competition has arrived and even premium car makers are cautiously watching developments. 

Data & photos: Mercedes-Benz. 

Moldova Car Sales : 2025

Registrations were up a most impressive 27% in 2025. Comparing that with the average over the previous ten years and 2025 was up 100%! 

The list below has a 'Share +/-' column that rates market share variance. Many brands in the yellow did have sales increases but the 27% increase meant they didn't quite keep pace. 

Dacia overtook Lada in 2010 and held the lead until 2021, when Toyota intervened. It held top spot for three years. Dacia came back for a cameo appearance in 2024 returned to #1 Toyota and decisively so.

BYD did little for a few years but suddenly surged to third place. Jetour is a newer entrant but is already up to eighth. Dacia fell back to fourth and BMW went from fifth to tenth. 

Pictures: Jetour Dashing (above) & BAIC X55 (below).