Belgium / Netherlands Brand Comparison : 2023

Two of the lowest lying car markets in Europe are compared in a brand head to head. Market share is compared and a percentage figure favouring one country appears in that country's side of the charts. Some predictable outcomes and the odd surprise.

Overview: Belgian registrations in 2023 were 475,000 and the Netherlands 370,000 Belgium has more brands on its side because it excels in winning with many smaller brands. 

German brands: VW is big in both markets and has about the same penetration in both, with Belgium winning by fractions, literally. 

All German brands fall on the Belgian side of the ledger. German owned Škoda, smart and SEAT do better in the Netherlands.

UK Brands: They are much better supported in Belgium. Bentley and Rolls Royce are on the other side though. 

French Brands: Renault is just in the Netherlands but its budget brand with Peugeot and Citroën in Belgium.

Japanese brands: Definitely more popular in the Netherlands, especially Mitsubishi. Subaru, Lexus and Honda are on the other side but they are not big volume brands. 

The rest: The popular Hyundai and Kia makes are very much favored by the Dutch. Chinese brands are massively more sought after there as well. a is stronger in the UK. Volvo has strong links to both countries and is evenly split while Opel is a win for the Netherlands.  

Summary: Many brands are similar but with some extreme variances too. British brands are very much on the Belgian side while the Chinese are much more established in the Netherlands. 

Tunisia Sales : 2023

In 2018 Renault was the best selling brand here. Kia took over in 2019, only to be knocked off the top spot by Hyundai in 2022. Renault has subsequently fallen to 15th place while the two Korean brands still duel for bragging rights of being at the top. 

Suzuki had a good year while Chery had one to forget. Citroën has given up selling cars here but still does a good trade in light commercial vehicles. The movements up and down are quite dramatic as the diff column shows. That column shows the percentage change in market share from 2022. 

Data source: Automobile. 

Liechtenstein Sales : 2023

Registrations increased by 4% in 2023 and 1,590 passenger cars were sold but for the better years, 2,000 units were exceeded. Still, for a small Principality that's quite a few cars. This market is similar to Luxembourg albeit on a smaller scale. 

The top four are comfortably ahead of the rest with premium marques doing well. Then a sizable gap to some mainstream brands. However, overall premium marques seem to have lost a little ground to the more value priced ones. VW had its third year at the top although it wouldn't take much change to have a new leader.  

It's nice they are open with their data, an example some other countries should try to emulate. The 'Diff' column shows market share change.   

Data source: Liechtensteinische Landesverwaltung.