EV figures: so many electric cars on the road in the Netherlands

Explosive increase since March 31, 2018

For imaging purposes, on March 31, 2018, there were 24,542 BEVs driving around in the Netherlands.
By March 31, 2020, there were 112,141, and by March 31, 2022, as many as 259,510.
By March 31, 2024, 464,539 electric cars already had Dutch license plates.
But what is the current state of affairs?
The latest figures are from July 31, 2024.
On that reference date, there were 502,180 BEVs driving around in the Netherlands.
That’s more than half a million.
That seems a lot, but the electric car has a 5.5 percent share in the Netherlands.

Most popular segments

Equally interesting is the breakdown by segment.
We limit ourselves to the A, B, C, D and E segments.
On July 31, 2024, there were 24,188 electric A-segment cars driving around in the Netherlands.
In the B-segment, there were 96,281.
By far the most popular segment for BEV buyers is the C-segment.
On July 31, 2024, there were 179,666 of them, shortly followed by the D-segment with 154,659 BEV registrations.
In the E-segment, there were 47,386 electric cars driving around on the same date.

Six popular electric cars in the Netherlands

Back for a moment to that total of 502,180 BEVs in the Netherlands.
After all, which electric cars are really popular in the Netherlands?
Looking at the Tesla Model Y, we count a total of 30,406 units until August 14, 2024.
Of the Tesla Model 3, that’s even 55,272 units already.
The Volkswagen ID.3 is also popular, with 22,834 registrations.
The Skoda Enyaq iV registers 19,403 units, the Nissan Leaf 15,556 units, and the Polestar 2 has 11,283 units on the road in the Netherlands.
Good, we have now mentioned six models.
Together, these account for 154,754 units, about 31 percent of the total number of BEVs in the Netherlands.

How do the Chinese do it?

So how are Chinese car manufacturers doing in the Netherlands?
Of the Xpeng G9, exactly 503 units are in circulation up to reference date August 14, 2024, almost equal to the MG Marvel R with 542 units.
Speaking of MG, the MG ZS is the brand’s most popular model with 7,390 registrations as of August 14, 2024.
The Nio ET7 has appeared 229 times in the Netherlands since that date.
Of the BYD Atto 3, 2,186 cars are involved.
Most electric cars are driven for business, through a lease arrangement, but individuals also know how to find the BEV through private lease.
You can lease a BYD from Louwman, for example, or choose more general private lease provider.
In that area the choice is vast, as is the range of electric cars.

Further increase in EVs

The total number of 502,180 is expected to grow even further.
In the period March 31, 2018 to July 31, 2024, the number of electric passenger cars in the Netherlands increased by 1946 percent.
We are curious to see if there will be such a robust increase again in the next six years.