I.A. Hedin Bil - Annual Report 2018 1
SWEDEN Sales of vehicles in Sweden 2018 was volat
ile due to the introduction of new tax laws and a change in emission legislation. Total industry volume in passenger cars decreased by 6.8 percent. However it was a record-breaking year for both light commercial vehicles and heavy trucks. Light commercial vehicles increased by 2.2 percent and heavy trucks increased by 0.1 percent. Hedin Bil performed better than the Swedish market and noted a 31 percent increase in sales compared to last year. Hedin Bil also increased commercial vehicle sales by 14 percent compared to last year. Retail of heavy trucks increased by 37 percent compared to 2017. Electric powered vehicles are becoming more and more popular, Sweden is now ranked as the 3rd largest market for rechargeable vehicles in Europe. Hedin Bil sold a total of 2 893 vehicles with electric or hybrid drivetrains. NORWAY In Norway the total market decreased by 6.8 percent. Bavaria Norge and Porsche Norway performed better than the market and recorded a 5.5 percent decrease compared to 2017. Diesel and petrol-powered vehicles continue to lose market shares. Electric and hybrids vehicles are extremely popular and increased by 39.6 percent compared to the previous year. Norway is the leading country by far on the hybrid and electrical vehicles representing almost half of the total industry volume. In 2018 Bavarias market share increased by 0.4 percent compared to the previous year, even though the general market in Norway decreased. BELGIUM In 2018, Belgium, like in the rest of Europe introduced WLTP in September. This had a negative impact on the passenger car sales which was reduced by 20 percent compared to 2017. However for the full year the market increased by 0.6 percent. Negative media focus on diesel emissions, have made the consumers look for alternatives. The increased focus on petrol vehicles by consumers has been a challenge for the OEM’s, as Belgium is a traditional diesel market. This shift has caused long delivery times for petrol engines. There has also been an increase interest in plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV). Belgium now ranks 9th place in Europe on most sold PHEV and EV vehicles representing 2 percent of the total market volume. AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY 10 I.A. HEDIN BIL AB / ANNUAL REPORT / 2018