Small numbers
Every month we focus on the big sales highlights, but on the other hand there are also brands where sales are not going so smoothly at all. For which brands is 2024 still somewhat disappointing in our country? We have the numbers.
The latest registration figures for new cars in the Netherlands recently arrived on our digital doormat and there were particular boosts for Kia, Toyota and Volvo. The Bovag, Rai Association and RDC not only calculate the top players in our country, but all registrations. This also means that there are brands that stand out where things are not going so smoothly. Of course, things never really go well with exclusive brands such as Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, so we will ignore them for the moment. However, there are also volume brands where the showroom door (digital or otherwise) is not exactly closed yet this year.
Alfa Romeo and DS
We go through the list in alphabetical order in search of brands that do not go much further than a few dozen units and after the Chinese Aiways (34 cars this year) we find Alfa Romeo, which has 59 cars in 2024. Last year it was around this time 77 pieces. Alfa Romeo has also been used to not selling large numbers in our country. By the way, no fewer than 57 of the 59 registrations were an Alfa Romeo Tonale. Only one copy of both the Stelvio and the Giulia has been registered this year. You can bet that the Milano will cause more traffic at the Alfa Romeo dealer later this year. Things aren’t going well for Stellantis cousin DS either. After two months in 2023, the counter was still at 117 cars, but now it stands at 84. The (relatively) most popular model is the DS 7 Crossback, of which 40 units have received a license plate this year. The most exclusive, as it is intended in a certain sense, is the DS 9. It will be good for four units in 2024.
Jaguar
A little further down we meet Fisker, with 33 Oceans, but that is more of an achievement than a strangely low number, so we quickly scroll past that to linger at Jaguar. The ambitions to become a volume brand have been put on hold and that may be for the better. In the Netherlands, the brand was stuck at 33 cars in the first two months last year and this year it is exactly the same number. The Jaguar F-Pace is the most registered with 16 copies, just like last year, only one of the XE was sold in this period. Perhaps the last.
Nio, Smart and SsangYong
The Chinese Nio also remains stuck below 100 copies, 60 to be precise. In percentage terms, this is still a nice growth after last year’s 14 units, but the brand continues to play a role in the margin. We can say the same about Smart, which is getting back on track with new models, but so far has only just exceeded 100 cars this year. They have to come from China, so we probably have to wait for the next ship full of Smarts. The SsangYong seller is mainly waiting for (new) models that will now be sold as KGM. This year, a Korando and a Torres were newly registered as SsangYong.
Subaru
Finally, Subaru stands out. In the 80s and 90s, the Japanese brand still sold thousands of cars here, but those days are long behind us. The last time more than 1,000 Subarus were sold was in 2008. Last year the counter was stuck at 91 units and for the time being it stands at 24. At this rate, 2024 will be a somewhat better year, mainly helped by the more affordable XV successor Crosstrek. Of these, 13 have now been sold, while the XV was only sold on one copy after two months last year and was only registered five times in the whole of 2023.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl