Sales of new cars in the Netherlands were finally better in April than in the same month last year. Yet it is still far from the old level.
In recent months there has been one after another drop in car sales compared to a year earlier. After all, in the first three months of 2020, we were hardly affected by the corona crisis. That was different in April last year and it should come as no surprise that things went better in April this year. 23,846 new cars were registered, 55 percent more than last year. This is evident from figures released today by Bovag and Rai Vereniging. There is, however, a major side note: it is still 27.1 percent less than April 2019. This shows once again that car sales are picking up again, but have not yet returned to the old level.
Of course we also look at the standings for this year. Although April showed a significant plus compared to last year, the first three months have been devastated. In the whole of 2021, 104,497 new cars have now been registered. That is 11.7 percent less than in the first four months of 2020. Bovag and Rai Vereniging again state that it is expected that 400,000 new cars will be registered this year. That has not yet been adjusted down or up after last month. Last year, 356,051 new cars were registered, so this year there would be a growth of more than 12 percent.
Kia can call itself the absolute winner of the month of April. It sold the most cars, 2,680 units, gaining 11.2 percent market share. Far more than last month’s number 1, Volkswagen, which drops back to second place with 8.8 percent market share. Kia also had both the most popular and the second most popular car at home last month. The topper in April was the Niro, of which 888 were sold, followed by the Picanto with 837 units. Especially the rise of the Niro to the first place is striking, it was last month at number 8 place. The Volvo XC40, which has been a regular customer in the top 3 for several months, can now be found in third place.
Top 10: best-selling cars in April 2021
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| 1. Kia Niro | 888 | 692 |
| 2. Kia Picanto | 837 | 383 |
| 3. Volvo XC40 | 816 | 94 |
| 4. Toyota Yaris | 534 | 242 |
| Peugeot 2008 | 517 | 236 |
| Peugeot 208 | 506 | 306 |
| 7. Toyota Aygo | 494 | 249 |
| 8. Renault Captur | 490 | 308 |
| 9. Volkswagen Polo | 476 | 431 |
| 10. Opel Corsa | 417 | 303 |
Top 10: best-selling car brands in April 2021
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| 1. Kia | 2,680 | 1,644 |
| 2. Volkswagen | 2.093 | 1,750 |
| 3. Peugeot | 1,766 | 1.131 |
| 4. Toyota | 1,686 | 1.038 |
| 5. Skoda | 1,435 | 753 |
| 6. Volvo | 1,392 | 386 |
| 7. Ford | 1,369 | 985 |
| 8. BMW | 1,280 | 824 |
| 9. Renault | 1,122 | 1.025 |
| 10. Mercedes-Benz | 1.055 | 509 |