Car sales May 2023: this BMW unexpectedly stands out

The sales figures for 2023 are reason for joyful cries from car brands every month: it also went well in May. 41 percent more cars were registered than in the same month last year. If we look at the whole year, the increase is almost 30 percent. The growth is due to the delivery of all orders that were still open from 2022. We do not see any real surprises in the top 5 of brands and models, but we did find other remarkable things.

1. Electric BMW more popular than petrol or diesel

Striking in the BMW sales of 2023: the best-selling BMW (BMW i4) is electric, and the number 2 (iX1) can also only run on electricity. The top 3 was almost fully electric, but the BMW iX3 (754 registrations) just cannot catch up with the 1-series and the 3-series (both 765 registrations). Strangely enough, the top 3 of 2023 at Mercedes consists of petrol cars: the A-class, CLA and C-class form the top 3.

2. Bestselling Volkswagen: ID.4

Could there be one country in the world where these two brands are fighting fiercely for the number 1 position? Just like in April, Kia is the best-selling brand in the Netherlands in May. There is even more reason for joy at Kia, because the Picanto is the bestseller of May (1537 registrations). Where the most popular Kia is the smallest model, the Volkswagen enthusiasts go for large and electric. In May, the Volkswagen ID.4 recorded the most registrations (715), followed by the Polo (481). If we add up all registered cars from 2023, the Germans are in the lead with 14,705. Kia follows with 13,634.

3. How does Porsche score?

Porsche has an interesting range. Of course, the now 60-year-old 911 is still prominent in the showroom, but the brand also has a thick SUV with the Cayenne that the Dutch can appreciate. And then there’s the electric Taycan, a marvel of fast charging and successfully injected with Porsche’s sports car genes. This is the best-selling Porsche of 2023 (388 registrations), the Cayenne does 28 less. But the 911 does not miss its anniversary year and takes the month of May (73 registrations, a total of 262).

4. The Chinese

Are the Dutch already warming up to Chinese? Mwah, there are no huge outliers to be seen. The popularity of the Lynk & Co 01 continues: 681 registrations in May, and 4276 in the first five months in total. MG is best of the rest, with 1687 registrations. Especially the MG4 is doing well. Nio sold 69 cars, Polestar 771. And 29 people have already bought a Hongqi, the brand of the Chinese party bosses. The E-HS9 is so far the only Hongqi model in the Netherlands.

Top 5 brands by 2023

1. Make it 3512
2. Volkswagen 3167
3. Toyota 2089
4. Peugeot 2084
5. Volvo 1971

Top 5 models by 2023

1. Kia Picanto 1537
2. Peugeot 208 1056
3. Tesla Model Y 1047
4. Volvo XC40 1045
5. Vauxhall Corsa 824