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Sep 10, 2023

BMW, VW gain as Belgium tax hike give EVs, PHEVs a big lift

BMW was Belgium's No. 1-selling brand for the third month, helped by strong demand for the 1 Series. BMW and Volkswagen were big winners last month in Belgium, where a looming increase in the

BMW was Belgium's No. 1-selling brand for the third month, helped by strong demand for the 1 Series.

BMW and Volkswagen were big winners last month in Belgium, where a looming increase in the country's CO2 tax led to a huge surge in demand for electrified cars, which helped lift the overall market by 41 percent.

BMW was boosted by a 208 percent sales increase for the 1 Series, a 33 percent gain for the 3 Series and a 9 percent jump for the X1. The X1 and 3 Series benefited from last month's high demand for plug-in hybrids. Sales of PHEVs rose 89 percent in May to 8,884, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.

VW's top-sellers included the Golf, which was No. 3 overall in May, and the full-electric ID4 and ID3. The ID4's sales rose more than 660 percent to 574 units last month while, helping to lift overall full-electric sales more than 200 percent in May to 7,195, Dataforce's figures show.

Belgium's new rules take effect starting July 1. At that time the CO2 tax for plug-in hybrids will increase to 846 euros from the country’s current minimum rate of 376 euros. The tax for all other combustion cars will increase by a factor of 2.25, meaning that a 400 euro tax bill will rise to 900 euros.

Battery-electric and zero-emission vehicles will continue to pay the minimum tax of 376 euros.

The country's fleet sales channel rose by 69 percent compared with May 2022 as business owners raced to get electrified vehicles registered ahead of the tax hike. Private sales jumped 22 percent, largely for the same reason. The Dacia Sandero was the top-seller last month in Belgium. Sales of the budget small hatchback skyrocketed nearly 440 percent to 1,157 unit in May. The Tesla Model Y was the country's No. 5-seller, increasing sales to 786 compared with just seven in May 2022.

The Volvo XC40, which is produced in the country, was No. 2 in overall sales with a volume of 862 units.

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