Swedish Auto Market in October 2023 grows for the third month in a row after falling 3.0% in July, with new sales reaching 24,987 (+11.7%). YTD figures at 234,709 are up 3.5% from the previous year. Tesla reports the best performance (+143.6%).
Market Trend and Outlook
The Swedish auto market in October 2023 grows for the third month in a row after falling 3.0% in July, with new sales reaching 24,987 (+11.7%). YTD figures at 234,709 are up 3.5% from the previous year.
Looking at cumulative data up to October 2023 brand-wise, Volvo maintains 1st with 31,187 sales (-3.4%), followed by Volkswagen at 26,796 (-0.1%), Kia at 19,944 (-21.0%) and Toyota with 19,077 units sold (-1.1%).
Tesla rises 5 spots into 5th with 16,309 sales (+143.6%), in front of Audi -up 1 spot- with 14,750 new registrations (+39.2%) and BMW with 12,806 units sold (-5.4%).
Mercedes falls 1 spot into 8th position with 12,517 sales (-4.6%), followed by Skoda at 11,167 (+17.0%) and Peugeot closing the Top 10 with 6,739 units sold (+2.0%).
Looking at specific models the Tesla Model Y is the best selling car, -up 7 spots- with an 185.6% increase in sales, overtaking previous year’s leader the Volvo XC40, which grew 9.4% in volume so far.
Medium-Trend Market Trend
The Swedish market has recorded an overall positive trend in the last years. Starting at 245k in 2010 it had a few years of growth reaching 300k in 2012. The upward trajectory was interrupted in 2013 with sales finishing at 290k, this halt didn’t last for long. In 2014 y/y car passenger sales began to increase for the following 4 years reaching a peak in 2017 at 409k registrations, close to double 2010 levels.
2018 and 2019 weren’t amazing years for the Swedish auto market with -13.5% and +0.5%, respectively, bringing sales down to 355k at the beginning of 2020. With the arrival of Covid , like in most European countries, sales dropped, falling under 300k registrations (-18%).
In 2021 demand for car passengers in Sweden showed signs of recovery reporting a +3%, with sales at 300k. Despite the rising sentiment in the previous year, 2022 showed signs of a market struggling to maintain high demand, mainly due to a push towards EVs and other global manufacturing factors. In fact, the year closed at 287,610 sales, a 4.4% decrease from the prior. The downfall continues into 2023, with the overall market down in double digits.
Although Europe is an important center for EV manufacturing, Germany in particular, the production costs haven’t been able to meet with the consumers willingness to pay, with the average cost of new BEV at euro 55,821. Lack of raw materials and elevated costs for micro-chip production also pose a threat for the Swedish car market, that is already having to confront higher prices and longer waiting times, pushing lower income consumers into the second hand market.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group, and top 10 Models.
