New and used cars, transport vehicles and heavy trucks

In the Car Business, Bilia new and used cars, transport vehicles and trucks. A sale often leads to financing, insurance, servicing, wheel storage and other services during the ownership period.

Access to new cars was good in 2024, after several years of component shortages leading to a lack of new cars. However, demand for new cars was negatively affected during the year by the economic situation with high interest rates, which is why fewer new cars were registered in all our countries of operation in 2024. In Norway, the number of car registrations was on a par with the previous year. In Sweden, the number of cars registered was 7 per cent lower than the previous year, while the number in both Luxembourg and Belgium decreased by 5 per cent compared to the previous year. 

The Car Business’s deliveries of new cars, adjusted for acquired and divested operations, were 6 per cent lower for the Group compared with the previous year. In Norway, underlying deliveries of new cars decreased by 14 per cent, while in Sweden underlying deliveries fell by just 3 per cent. In Western Europe, deliveries of new cars were down 10 per cent on the previous year. Deliveries of used cars, adjusted for acquired and divested operations, increased by 9 per cent on the previous year, primarily related to Sweden and due to better access to used cars. For the fifth consecutive year, we delivered more used cars than new cars to our customers. Demand for used cars has been good during the year, and is deemed to have been positively impacted by the weak economy, leading customers to choose used cars over new ones. Demand for new cars and especially electric cars was adversely affected during the year by the weak economy, high interest rates and high inflation. The order intake of new cars, adjusted for acquired and divested operations, was however 12 per cent higher primarily due to Norway, whose orders more than doubled compared to the previous year. 2023 was a year characterised by unusually low order intake in Norway, following the implementation of new tax regulations. In Sweden and Western Europe, the underlying order intake in 2024 was more stable and slightly higher than in the previous year. The order backlog at the end of the year was at a historically low level in Sweden, normal in Norway and strong in Western Europe. The order backlog amounted to 11,132 cars, compared to 14,262 cars in the previous year. The lower order backlog is partly explained by short delivery times for cars from the car manufacturers, but also by a lower order intake in Sweden, while the order backlog in Norway increased due to strong order intake during the year. In Norway and Western Europe, deliveries of chargeable cars continued to increase in 2024. In Sweden, however, deliveries of chargeable cars decreased due to less favourable tax regulations.