Number of registered electric passenger cars the Netherlands December 2020, by type

The Netherlands is one of the leading nations in the European Union in the switch to zero-emission vehicles. In the Benelux region, the Netherlands leads with the most battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations with over 170,000 units in 2020. To encourage the switch to zero-emission vehicles, the Netherlands has developed the infrastructure to accommodate the rising demand for electric vehicles. The country has done this by increasing the number of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles almost three-fold to reach 1,333 stations in 2020.

Types of Electric vehicles

Amongst the types of electric passenger cars available in the Netherlands, battery electric vehicles were the most popular option with over 180,000 newly registered vehicles. While plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) had over 108,000 new registrations, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) played an insignificant role with just 390 registrations. The increased rate of BEV purchases can be attributed to new incentives encouraging electric vehicle use.

Incentives of electric vehicles in the Netherlands

The Dutch government provides enticing incentives for owners of electric vehicles, mainly BEV as this type is at the forefront of its mission. New owners of battery electric passenger cars are eligible to claim 4,000 euros from the government; in addition, second-hand battery purchases are eligible to also receive 2,000 euros from the government. Such a policy has marked up the purchases of electric vehicles, which can be seen with the increased share of electric vehicles bought in the Netherlands in the last few years. Electric vehicles accounted for 13.9 percent of all new vehicles purchased in the Netherlands in 2019. This tremendous increase from only about one percent in 2016 underpins the success of the policy.