New car registrations rose by over 40 percent in Latvia and Lithuania in Q3 year-on-year, while in Estonia they fell by more than 40 percent.
An analysis of data from the vehicle registration agencies of Lithuania (Regitra), Latvia (CSDD) and Estonia (Transport Administration) shows that new passenger car registrations in the Baltic states rose by 16.7 percent in the third quarter of 2025, reaching a total of 22,527 vehicles.
“Despite the sharp drop in registrations in Estonia due to tax changes, the overall result is still positive thanks to strong growth in the other two Baltic countries,” noted AV Automotive Research/AutoTyrimai, as reported by Latvian public broadcaster LSM.
Lithuania saw a 46.4 percent increase in new car registrations, with 11,646 vehicles registered, while Latvia posted a similarly strong 45.6 percent rise, with 7,020 vehicles registered compared to the same period last year. In contrast, Estonia saw its third consecutive quarterly decline, with registrations down 40.8 percent to 3,861 new cars, a drop attributed to the introduction of a motor vehicle tax that came into force on January 1, 2025, according to LSM.
Lithuania accounted for 51.7 percent of all new car sales in the Baltics, followed by Latvia with 31.2 percent and Estonia with 17.1 percent.
Read more: ERR.EE
