This is how much money the Dutch borrow on average for a car

August 25, 2022

BPM

Thanks to our tax system, cars in our country are screamingly expensive. Much more expensive than abroad. Compared to the whole of Europe, cars in our country are on average 18.5% more expensive. This has everything to do with the BPM: a tax that is calculated on the catalog value and CO2 emissions of a car.

The higher the CO2 emissions, the more BPM you pay. In this way, the government hopes we will all buy cleaner cars. Whether this approach works remains to be seen. Cars are so expensive in our country that relatively few new ones are sold. Many Dutch people choose an affordable, used car, which often emits more pollutants than a new, modern car.

Borrow money for car

Dutch people who want a brand new car or a nice used car in front of their door often have to go to the bank first. Few people can transfer twenty, thirty, or forty grand to the local dealer at one time. Research by Geld.nl shows that between January and June 2022, people borrowed an average of 12,554 euros for a car. This was still 11,900 euros in 2021. “This is mainly because the prices of cars have risen considerably,” says Amanda Bulthuis, expert money & insurance at Geld.nl Second-hand cars easily cost thousands of euros more now than in 2020.

Less fast loans

On the other hand, the number of people taking out loans for a car decreased in the first half of 2022. In 2021, 30.5 percent of consumers who took out loans still borrowed for a car; today, that figure is 29 percent. “This may also have to do with the sky-high prices you are currently paying for a used car and the ongoing delivery problems with new cars,” says Bulthuis. “People then prefer to put off buying a car for a while.”