Car Vrum

The ongoing chip shortages and supply problems caused by the war in Ukraine have left automakers able to produce far fewer cars than they would like. This results in declining sales figures across the board. If we only look at the month of April, then Opel (-417), Peugeot (-380), Renault (-371) and Volkswagen (-581), among others, have been hit hard.

Modest Profits

Fortunately, it is not all doom and gloom. There are also various brands that make modest profits in the Netherlands. Compared to April 2021, Dacia (+44), Fiat (+136), Hyundai (+464), MG (+164) and Skoda (+54) are showing increasing figures. But except for Hyundai, the numbers really shouldn’t have a name. Despite their strong decline, Volkswagen and Peugeot still managed to conquer a place in the top 5 of the brands. Their best scoring models are the Polo and the 208. Toyota has to rely mainly on the Yaris.

Top 5 brands (April 2022)

Big winner

At Lynk&Co, it’s a completely different story. Last April, this Chinese brand entered the market with the 01 and sold 66 cars. This year, that number has increased more than tenfold to 691. This puts the plug-in hybrid in fourth place in the April model list. The newcomer is also doing well over the entire first quarter: for the whole of 2022, the current standings are 1643 cars.

On the one hand this is special, on the other hand very understandable. Technically, the Lynk&Co 01 is identical to the plug-in hybrid Volvo XC40, but it is about 10,000 euros cheaper. Whether the special lease concept of the Lynk&Co contributes to the success is unclear. Only a small percentage of Lynk&Co drivers seem to make use of the on-rental options.

Top 5 models (April 2022)

The electric Skoda Enyaq iV was the bestseller in the Netherlands in April. Four other models in this top 5 are also available as fully electric models: the Volvo XC40, the Peugeot 208 and the Kia Niro. The Lynk & Co 01 is only available as a plug-in hybrid and the Kia Picanto does not have any form of electrification.