Estonian car dealer: Auto market experienced unprecedented double sales growth in December

TALLINN - The sales of passenger and commercial vehicles doubled in Estonia in December 2024 compared to December 2023, marking a record 109.5 percent increase, with over 4,300 vehicles sold in a single month, according to car dealer Elke.

"Predictions of a highly intense car sales period at the end of the year proved accurate. The overall annual car sales for 2024 also rose by 11.1 percent. While 26,903 vehicles were sold in Estonia in 2023, nearly 30,000 were sold in 2024. The introduction of the car tax at the start of the new year was a clear reason why buyers postponed their purchases until the end of the year, resulting in record sales for dealers," said Raido Rosenfeld, head of Elke's Mustamäe and Mustakivi branches in Tallinn.

Toyota sales volumes in December increased by 53.9 percent compared to the same period last year. A total of 908 new Toyota passenger and commercial vehicles were registered in December, 318 more than in the same month last year.

In the passenger car segment, Toyota was the market leader in December with a 20.3 percent market share, followed by Škoda at 18.1 percent and Volkswagen at 14.7 percent. Renault came in fourth with 9.6 percent, Kia fifth with 4.2 percent, and Dacia sixth with 3.7 percent. Seventh, eighth, and ninth places went to Audi, Citroën, and Hyundai, with market shares around 2 percent.

In the commercial vehicle segment, Toyota also secured the top position in December with a 24.5 percent market share, followed by Ford with 14.5 percent and Volkswagen with 13.3 percent. Peugeot took fourth place with 12.3 percent, Citroën fifth with 11.5 percent, and Renault sixth with 10.5 percent.

An annual overview of newly registered brands in the M1+N1 categories shows that Toyota was the best-selling new vehicle brand in Estonia, with a total of 5,310 new vehicles sold.

By fuel type, hybrid-powered vehicles were the most popular last year, with 11,614 vehicles sold, accounting for 45.1 percent of total passenger car sales.

Gasoline-powered vehicles ranked second in popularity, with 6,783 vehicles sold, making up 26.3 percent of total sales. Diesel-powered vehicles followed with 4,507 vehicles, representing 17.5 percent of total sales. Fully electric vehicles accounted for 1,323 registrations, making up 5.1 percent of total sales.