All forms of electric cars are also on the rise in Belgium. If in 2021 a quarter of new cars were plug-in, hybrid or ‘pure’ electric, in 2022 these will represent more than a third or more than 124,000 cars. This is a record, reports the automobile federation Febiac.
• Analysis: The company car will be green or expensive
It is mainly companies and the self-employed who have found their way to greener cars. As many as 87 percent of electric car registrations (Battery Electric Vehicle or BEV in jargon) in 2022 were carried out by companies or self-employed workers. For plug-in hybrids, that figure rises to 91 percent.
Frightened individuals
In stark contrast to the lukewarm enthusiasm that private municipalities have for this “green” part of the car market. They often stick to classic diesel and petrol cars. The market share of fossil cars among the general population is still 79% today.
And if individuals buy an electrified car, they opt for a hybrid car that charges while driving. As many as 54.6 per cent of registrations of this type were made by a private individual.
“Perhaps the higher price of electric cars and the fear of a lack of charging stations still frightens many ordinary people today,” thinks Gabriel Goffroy, communications director at Febiac.
“Now politicians really need to work on more charging stations”
Gabriel Goffroy
Febiac
Another explanation for the remarkable division of the Belgian car market is the favorable tax regime for electric cars, which is becoming more attractive every year. As a result, companies, self-employed workers and employees are tempted en masse to switch to green alternatives. Especially from this year: after all, anyone who drives a diesel or petrol company car from 1 January will soon pay significantly more taxes. The “benefit in kind” is on the rise. And as the avalanche of electric (company) cars continues to roll, the tax ‘penalty’ for still owning a petrol or diesel car will only increase in the coming years.
Add to that the growing supply of electric cars – already around 200 different models – and according to Febiac our fleet can already be expected to become greener at a rapid pace. ‘The policy just pushes the car market in that direction. But then politicians have to follow suit and quickly roll up their sleeves. They really need to work on it now multiple charging stations. So that private municipalities can and want to follow the green trend,’ says Goffroy.
