Netherlands imported over a billion euros worth of electric cars from China by 2023

China

By 2023, after Germany and Belgium, most electric cars came from China. As recently as 2022, China ranked 12th as a supplier of hybrid and all-electric cars. However, most of the Chinese cars arriving in the Netherlands are destined for other European countries and not for the Dutch market. This reports CBS.

Over a billion euros

In 2023, the Netherlands imported an impressive 1.1 billion euros worth of electric cars (including hybrids) from China. That’s a whopping 13 times more than in 2022. Nevertheless, the bulk of electric bolides still come from Germany, with a value of 4.3 billion euros – up about 50 percent from last year.

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Transit

Interesting detail: some two-thirds of electric cars from China are not actually intended for the Dutch market, but involve quasi-transit (foreign-owned transit). Without this transit, the import value would be at 0.4 billion euros and China would rank fourth as a supplier to the Netherlands in 2023, after Germany, Belgium and South Korea.

Market share

By 2023, 16 percent of hybrid and fully electric cars entering the Netherlands were Chinese-made, up sharply from 3 percent in 2022. However, China’s market share in the Netherlands remains smaller due to the transit of many cars to other European countries. In terms of import value, the share is even lower because Chinese cars are relatively cheap. Moreover, China almost exclusively exports electric cars to the Netherlands. Of total Dutch auto imports, China had a 7 percent share in 2023, and without quasi-transit, the share would be 3 percent.

Electric cars remain popular

By early 2024, the Netherlands had nearly 1.3 million fully electric and hybrid cars, a 31 percent increase from January 2023. Over 1 in 7 passenger cars in the Netherlands is now a fully electric or hybrid car. Of all new passenger cars sold in 2023, this was more than 2 in 3 cars (68 percent).