Ever noticed how the headlines brag about climbing new car registrations, yet everyone you know seems less keen to buy a brand-new ride? You’re not imagining it. The broader auto market in April saw a modest 6% bump in registrations, but electric vehicles took a serious hit—down a staggering 44% year-over-year. The irony is that these numbers don’t fully stem from everyday folks heading to showrooms; they’re inflated by what the industry calls “tactical sales.”
So, what exactly are tactical sales? Essentially, automakers need to keep their quarterly figures looking healthy, even when individual buyers aren’t biting. To do this, they register cars through alternative channels—think manufacturer demos, rental fleets, or company cars for employees. Yes, these vehicles count as “new car sales” on paper, but they aren’t true consumer purchases. It’s like entering your pet in a marathon: you get a finisher’s medal, but no one’s racing for glory.
It’s a clever workaround that’s rapidly gaining momentum. In April 2025, registrations under manufacturer-controlled channels jumped 12% compared to the previous year. That’s a direct response to a market that’s simply not strong enough to support the sales targets automakers have trumpeted. With consumer demand stalling—especially for pricier electric models—brands are leaning on these tactical avenues more than ever.
Behind the Numbers: Why They Don’t Tell the Whole Story
When you break down the data by channel, the picture becomes even more striking. Rental companies saw registrations shoot up 18%, while demonstration vehicles climbed by about 7.5%. For certain manufacturers, this strategy has become a lifeline. Take Peugeot, which reported a jaw-dropping 89% increase in manufacturer registrations. That surge isn’t from customers driving off the lot—it’s mostly fleet and demo units padding the stats.
Globally, other brands are in on the tactic, too. Chinese automakers BYD and Xpeng are registering roughly 40% and 20% of their deliveries via these alternative channels, respectively. Tesla’s share is lower—under 10%—but it still dents the transparency of their monthly or quarterly announcements. The lesson here? When you see a headline touting a big sales increase, it pays to look under the hood at what slice of those numbers are true consumer sales versus tactical registrations.
As a follow-up, most of these cars eventually surface on used-car lots as “0 km” or almost-new vehicles. That can be a sweet deal for bargain hunters who scoop up heavily discounted models with little to no mileage. Yet there’s a cost: dealers and manufacturers accept slimmer margins to shift these units quickly. So while buyers might celebrate lower prices, the brands aren’t exactly raking in the profits they would from a full-price sale to a retail customer.
In fact, B2C (business-to-consumer) sales now represent an average of only 39% of total transactions across the industry. For BYD, demo vehicle registrations have even outpaced genuine retail purchases. French stalwarts like Citroën and Renault, along with global players such as Mercedes and Ford, are all leveraging tactical channels heavily. Renault itself delivered to just 29.37% of private buyers in April—a figure that would make any marketing exec break a sweat if clients looked beyond the headlines.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Not every automaker is jumping on the tactical-sales bandwagon. Brands like Dacia and MG are holding strong, still selling roughly 60% of their vehicles directly to consumers. Their lower price points and strong demand mean they haven’t needed to resort to clever accounting tricks. Post–COVID sales spikes even prompted some companies to suspend tactical registrations altogether—only to bring them back as soon as market conditions softened again.
For buyers, the takeaway is simple: keep an eye out for those “used” cars with zero miles and ask a lot of questions. Are you getting a bargain on a nearly new model? Sure. But be aware that these deals reflect shifting strategies in an industry that’s grappling with higher vehicle costs, dwindling subsidies, and uneven demand—especially for EVs.
Ultimately, these tactical sales are a symptom of a market in flux. Prices remain elevated, subsidies are tightening, and production costs are climbing. Until electric vehicles become more accessible and incentives rebound, manufacturers will lean on any channel that keeps their numbers looking healthy. And as long as those in-the-know keep buying “zero-kilometer” deals, the practice is probably here to stay.
