Following a positive month of vehicle registrations in July, the automotive market in Belgium declined in August, and September saw all of the automotive industry’s vehicle segments post year-on-year declines in registrations.
The bus/coach segment fared the worst, with registrations in September plummeting 39.5%, from 76 units in 2011 to 46 last month, figures published by the Belgian Federation of Car Industries (FEBIAC) and Federal Public Service Mobility & Transport show.
The passenger car segment, which accounts for the bulk of new vehicle registrations in Belgium, fell sharply by 18.7% last month to 33,660 units. Comparatively, this segment had posted sales of 41,427 units a year earlier.
Light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes contracted from 4,681 units to 3,820, translating into a year-on-year drop of 18.4%. A 15.7% decline saw registrations of medium and heavy CVs between 3.5 and 16 tonnes drop from 166 to 140 units.
Heavy CVs over 16 tonnes posted the smallest year-on-year decline in September at -8.6%. This segment reported registrations of 689 vehicles last month, compared with 754 units sold in September 2011.
For the full year 2012, FEBIAC forecasts passenger car registrations to be around 485,000 units. This would translate into a year-on-year decline of approximately 15%, compared with the number of cars registered in Belgium in 2011.
