How many electric cars are driving around?

On 1 January 2021, there were 174 thousand registered fully electric cars in the Netherlands, which is 67 thousand (63 percent) more than a year earlier. The number of plug-in hybrid vehicles rose by 9 percent to over 99 thousand. Most plug-in electric vehicles are still company cars, but private ownership is increasing.

On 1 January 2021, there were a total of more than 273 thousand plug-in electric vehicles, i.e. 38 percent up on the previous year. Plug-in electric vehicles are passenger cars with an electric motor and a battery that can be recharged by plugging it into an external power source. They comprise both fully electric vehicles (FEVs), solely driven by an electric motor (and emission-free), and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). The latter type contains a conventional fuel engine in addition to the electric motor. At the beginning of 2021, 3.1 percent of the total passenger car fleet in the Netherlands were plug-in cars.

Show datatablePlug-in electric vehicles, 1 January (x 1,000)Hide datatablePlug-in electric vehicles, 1 January (x 1,000)

Plug-in electric vehicles, 1 January (x 1,000)

jaar	Fully electric vehicles (FEV)	Plug-in hybrids (PHEV)
2015	7.4	36.8
2016	10.0	76.3
2017	13.7	95.7
2018	21.8	97.3
2019	44.7	93.9
2020	106.6	91.0
2021	174.0	99.3

Ever more electric cars in private hands

Plug-in electric vehicles have become increasingly popular among private consumers in the past year. The share of plug-in electric cars in private ownership has increased from 27 percent at the beginning of 2020 to 36 percent at the start of 2021. However, most plug-in electric vehicles are still company cars (64 percent). In early 2021, as much as 78 percent of the fully electric cars were owned by businesses. The number of fully electric passenger cars grew strongly last year (63 percent), while the number of private owners doubled and the number of business owners grew by 55 percent.

As for plug-in hybrids, private owners outnumbered business owners for the first time in early 2021. The number of plug-in hybrids with private owners rose by 78 percent in one year, while the number of business owners fell by 32 percent.

Through the Subsidy Scheme for Electric Cars for Private Individuals (SEPP), private individuals can receive a subsidy for the purchase of a new or used electric car. There are also schemes for business drivers that make electric driving attractive. For instance, business drivers with a fully electric car will pay an additional tax liability of 8 percent, compared to 22 percent for a petrol or diesel car, and they are exempt from motor vehicle tax.

Show datatablePlug-in electric vehicles by ownership, 1 January (x 1,000)Hide datatablePlug-in electric vehicles by ownership, 1 January (x 1,000)

Plug-in electric vehicles by ownership, 1 January (x 1,000)

Categorie	2021	2020
Plug-in electric (total)	.	.
Business	174.8	144.6
Private	98.5	53.0
Fully electric (FEV)	.	.
Business	136.2	87.7
Private	37.8	18.8
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV)	.	.
Business	38.6	56.8
Private	60.8	34.2

Increasing share of plug-in electric cars in new car sales

In 2020, almost 90 thousand new plug-in electric carsnoot1 were sold, which is up 32 percent relative to 2019. The majority of them, more than 73 thousand, were fully electric. This represents a growth of 17 percent compared to a year previously. Overall, fewer new cars (all fuel types) were sold in 2020 than in 2019. The share of plug-in electric cars in new sales rose from 15 percent in 2019 to 24 percent in 2020.

New sales of FEVs to business owners peaked in December 2020. As of 1 January 2021, the additional tax liability for fully electric cars was raised from 8 percent to 12 percent. Of the fully electric cars sold to private individuals, two-thirds were sold in the second half of 2020, after the SEPP subsidy scheme took effect on 1 July.

In addition to fully electric cars, over 16 thousand plug-in hybrids were sold, three times as many as in 2019. Of the plug-in hybrids sold, 43 percent were purchased by a private individual.

Show datatableNew fully electric car sales, 2020 (x 1,000)Hide datatableNew fully electric car sales, 2020 (x 1,000)

New fully electric car sales, 2020 (x 1,000)

maand	Business	Private
Jan	0.86	0.75
Feb	1.63	1.26
Mar	2.83	1.21
Apr	1.18	0.41
May	1.09	0.34
Jun	1.95	0.94
Jul	2.08	1.88
Aug	2.70	1.66
Sep	4.63	1.58
Oct	5.47	1.79
Nov	6.17	1.38
Dec	27.75	1.69

The questions

1. How are figures calculated by CBS?
2. How many dwellings in the Netherlands?
3. How fast is the Dutch population growing?
4. How tall are Dutch people?
5. How many farm animals are there in the Netherlands?
6. Which jobs often cause a poor work-life balance?
7. How many diamond wedding couples are there?
8. How much energy is from renewable sources?
9. How many people fall victim to domestic violence?
10. How many people use the Internet of Things?
11. What are the major religions?
12. What are the most popular majors?
13. What do people die of on an average day?
14. How much water do we consume?
15. What do we buy online?
16. How are the various animal species doing?
17. How many under-23s receive youth assistance?
18. Which flower bulbs are most common?
19. How many companies in the Netherlands?
20. Where do Caribbean Dutch children live?
21. How do we use our land?
22. How many electric cars are driving around?
23. Which jobs have the highest levels of mental fatigue?
24. How much nitrogen is emitted at livestock farms?
25. How many workers belong to a trade union?
26. How much have food prices gone up?
27. Where were people in the Caribbean Netherlands originally born?
28. How many families are at risk of poverty?
29. How sustainable is our behaviour?
30. What do we import from China?
31. How many girls become teenage mothers?
32. Has our purchasing power gone up or down?
33. How many adults smoke?
34. How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
35. How many tourists stay overnight in the Netherlands?
36. How does CBS handle your privacy?