Car sales in March: almost 18 percent in the min

You could have counted it out on your fingers beforehand. Car sales in March this year are well behind those of the same month last year, according to figures released today by Bovag, Rai Vereniging and RDC.

In March 2021, 24,186 new passenger cars were registered. That is 17.7 percent less than in the same month last year when 29,372 new passenger cars were registered. The monthly percentage decline in car sales thus appears to be leveling off somewhat. In January and February sales fell of 20 and 26.3 percent respectively. Yet it is not very promising. In January and February 2020 we were – on paper – completely virus-free. Car sales were first infected with the corona virus in March 2020, it was the first month in which car sales took a hit.

Car sales in the first three months of this year are logically well behind those of last year around this time. In the first three months of 2021, a total of 80,885 new passenger cars were registered, 21.5 percent less than the 103,053 new passenger cars registered in the same period last year. Bovag and RAI Association expect to register a total of around 400,000 new cars this year. It should be noted, however, that the course of the corona crisis and therefore also the effect on the car market is too unpredictable to be able to make a reliable prediction. Bovag indicates that it will be quite a task to get 400,000 units.

The Volvo XC40 proved to be the absolute top seller in March. 638 new XC40s were registered. Volvo’s compact crossover also topped the sales list in January, but was beaten by the Ford Fiesta and Kia Picanto in February. The Ford Fiesta is not even in the Top 10 this month, the little brother of the Focus finishes in place 14. The Opel Corsa is in second place with 595 units sold. Opel’s B-segmenter thus climbs three places compared to February. The continuously popular Kia Picanto completes the top 3 with 588 units sold. Place four and five are for the Toyota Yaris (584 units) and Peugeot 208 (537 units). They are also the only two brands with two models in the top 10. The Toyota Aygo is in sixth place and the Peugeot 2008 in ninth place. Places seven and eight are filled by the Ford Focus and Kia Niro. The Volkswagen Polo is at the bottom of the league.

Top 10: bestselling models in March 2021

Top 10: best-selling car brands in February 2021