In the first quarter, 37.3% of new registrations were petrol engines and 30.3% were diesel engines. Electric vehicles represent 32.4% of new registrations Shutterstock

In the first quarter, 37.3% of new registrations were petrol engines and 30.3% were diesel engines. Electric vehicles represent 32.4% of new registrations Shutterstock

Compared to last year, the national car market has grown by 4.5%. On the other hand, it was hard to do worse when the sector was at a standstill as early as in March 2020 due to the first lockdown.

Going back a bit further, we can see that the automotive market is still far from reaching cruising speed. Compared to the first quarters of 2018 and 2019, the first three months of this year show a decline of 12.9% and 16.5%.

Still, there are some encouraging signs, including the figures for last March. With 4,967 new registrations, the gauge is more in line with pre-pandemic levels without being exceptional.

In terms of brands, Volkswagen remains the undisputed favorite among motorists with 605 new registrations last month. In March 2019, the German brand had recorded 754 new registrations. Behind VW, Mercedes posted 505 new registrations and 497 for BMW. The German "premium" marques are just as indestructible as the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer.

In terms of models, the Peugeot 208 leads the ranking of the most registered cars since the beginning of the year with 268 units. The VW Golf follows with 231 units, the Peugeot 2008 with 213 units and the Volkswagen T-Roc with 208 units.

Electric vehicles have, for the first time, overtaken combustion engines. More precisely, electric vehicles have overtaken diesel in the number of new registrations.

In terms of engine types, consolidated figures from the Belgian and Luxembourg federation of automobiles, Febiac, show that 37.3% of new registrations in the first quarter were petrol engines and 30.3% were diesel engines.

On the other hand, 100% electric vehicles represent 8.3% of new registrations. Hybrids account for 24.1% of new registrations since the beginning of the year. Therefore, electrified vehicles represent 32.4% of new registrations.

However, it should be noted that 7% of newly registered hybrid vehicles require electricity and diesel fuel to operate. So diesel has not yet had its final say.

This article was originally published on Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.