Small is beautiful: Belgium's car trends

‘Size matters’ ran the provocative slogan of one well-known car manufacturer a few years ago, but what matters to buyers in 2014? We take a look at the cars currently popular in showrooms in Belgium

The SUV segment – the only sector of the European car market still growing – is moving towards smaller models and smaller engines. Robin Van den Bogaert, editor of Vroom.be, says the continuing popularity of these vehicles owes more to looks than raw power.  “They're more adventurous than a regular car. A lot of these SUVs don’t even have four-wheel drive. For example, the Renault Captur is a front-wheel drive car. It’s just a normal city car, but with a different design,” he explains.

Another SUV model selling well is the Peugeot 2008. The French manufacturer is no longer making a compact station wagon but instead is promoting this compact SUV. Is safety also a consideration then for buyers?  “Well, you have a better view of the traffic, of course.  But there are not really any safety advantages…you feel safer because you are higher up than in regular cars,” Van den Bogaert says.

One distinct advantage of choosing a smaller car (both in terms of dimensions and engine size) is lower fuel consumption and, as a result, lower CO2 emissions. But this downsizing trend doesn’t necessarily reflect an awakening of a green consciousness among drivers. It's more a response to higher taxes in Belgium on company cars for models with higher emissions. Moreover, the market hasn’t, of course, escaped the financial crisis, and sales of large cars, SUVs included, have taken a hit.

Nevertheless, the Belgian market is holding up well in comparison with the rest of Europe, says Van den Bogaert. “Petrol engine cars are selling better than last year, while diesel engines are performing less well. A lot of people bought diesel cars out of habit but that is changing in Belgium.”

Diesel-fuelled cars consume less fuel, which to date has tended to be cheaper, but the price difference is narrowing and diesel cars are also a bit more expensive. “A diesel car is only beneficial when you drive a lot on the motorway; then you can save some money. If you do more than 30,000km a year, then it’s pretty obvious you can benefit from a diesel car,” he says.     

The future is small

This year will also see several major launches in the small, city car segment. The Smart 44, a city car that can accommodate four people, was developed with the Renault Twingo (pictured) – while Peugeot, Citroen and Toyota are all launching their new city cars.

The future looks small, but it’s not yet electric. The “ridiculously small” percentage of electric vehicles (EVs) in Belgium, says Van den Bogaert, can be easily attributed to the lack of a sufficient government subsidies scheme. In short, at twice the price of regular cars, EVs are still too expensive.  “However, more and more car brands are launching electric cars – such as the BMW i3 or the Volkswagen Golf out later this year, which will have a purely electric version,” he says.

Joeri de Ridder, chairman of the Belgian branch of the European association for battery, hybrid, fuel cell electric vehicles (AVERE), agrees that government initiatives are needed to support the market. Subsidies were managed at a federal level in Belgium but responsibilities have now been transferred to the regions, which have yet to introduce any new systems. Nevertheless, de Ridder is optimistic that the local EV-testing initiative 'living labs', which was started two years ago (and is due to end in October), will have a positive impact.

Interoperability issues are another barrier to a greater roll out of EVs in the country, along with a lack of real awareness among potential buyers. But de Ridder is eager to point out that even without subsidies, EVs make economic as well as environmental sense. After four or five years, he says, EV owners begin to see net savings over the cost of vehicles with combustion engines.  Unfortunately, the purchase price of EVs can be prohibitively high, especially during hard financial times

De Ridder believes that a market breakthrough is more likely to come from a 'game changing' vehicle, such as Tesla, than government incentives. "What Tesla is doing for our business is incredible.  They had quite good car sales at the Brussels car show in January, and I’ve started seeing many Tesla's on the streets even though it is a very high end car… [and] competitive when compared with other high-end cars," he says.

Indeed, it's not just city cars that can go electric. De Ridder highlights the excitement generated by the hybrid system with electric propulsion of the new McLaren and Porsche sports cars when they recently featured on the BBC car programme, Top Gear. "When you see that level of expectancy - before, everything electric was bad and was for nerds and the greens only - then public opinion will start tipping, and that tipping point is crucial," he says.

The trend has not gone unspotted by Van den Bogaert at Vroom.be. He says that a lot of sport cars now have hybrid and even electric engine systems, such as the BMW i8, a plug-in hybrid. But the switch to electric is not just for reasons of fuel consumption. “It’s also to give the performance a boost,” he emphasises.