The number of passenger cars with a Dutch licence plate is rising every year. In 2017, the number rose by over 150 thousand to 8.4 million on 1 January 2018. Likewise the number of commercial vehicles and motorcycles increased again last year. In the past two and a half decades, only in 2014 were fewer motor vehicles sold than in the previous year. The total number of registered motor vehicles passed the 10 million mark in 2017. On 1 January 2018, there were 10.1 million motor vehicles in the Netherlands.

Car ownership among young people aged 18 to 29 years increases with age. Of the 18-year-olds, 3 percent owned a car in 2015, versus 49 percent of the 29-year-olds. There is a marked difference in car ownership rates between students and young workers. Eight percent of the student population own a car, versus 48 percent of the young workers. Although only a minority of young people own a car, the majority do possess a driving licence. Of the students, 60 percent have a driving licence, against 83 percent of the young workers.

On 1 January 2018, over 1.4 million people were holders of a Dutch motorcycle licence. This is equivalent to 106 motorcycle licences per thousand inhabitants. The number of motorcycle licences per thousand inhabitants is highest in Drenthe: 143. Second is Zeeland with 127 licences for every thousand inhabitants. At the local level, the municipalities of Dalfsen (Overijssel), De Wolden (Drenthe) and Bronckhorst (Gelderland) stand out with 189, 179 and 177 motorcycle licence holders per thousand inhabitants, respectively. The lowest shares of motorcycle licence holders can be found in Rotterdam (55 per thousand) and Amsterdam (59 per thousand).

In 2017, the volume of motor vehicle traffic on Dutch national roads was 2.3 thousand vehicles per hour, almost 1 percent more than in 2016. The highest traffic density in 2017 was recorded on the A10 between the De Nieuwe Meer junction and the Buitenveldert exit: on average, slightly over 113 thousand in one working day. Other busy routes include the Buitenveldert exit up to the De Nieuwe Meer junction (A10), the A4 near Hoofddorp towards Amsterdam, and the A27 between the two junctions Lunetten and Rijnsweerd towards De Bilt.

In 2016, almost 71 percent of lorries and tractors for trailers for commercial use were registered in the name of transport and storage companies, wholesalers and retailers. The number of lorries and tractors within these sectors declined by over 7.5 percent relative to 2009. In the same period, the total number of lorries and tractors was down by 7 percent.

The number of passengers travelling in and out of Dutch airports rose by 50 percent between 2007 and 2017: from 50.5 million to 76.2 million. The number of passengers passing through Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has increased by over 43 percent over the past decade. Relative to 2007, nearly three times as many passengers checked in and out at the other domestic airports. The share of these smaller airports in the total number of air passengers rose from 5 to 10 percent.

Over 11 million people have a Dutch driving licence, equivalent to 81 percent of the population aged 18 and over. The number of car driving licences is highest among people in their fifties (90 percent). Young people (17 to 19 years) and older people (70 and over) are less often in possession of a driving licence, although the numbers have increased in recent years. Among the over-70s, the share rose from 56 percent in 2014 to 66 percent in 2018. Driving licence holding went up from 7 percent to 10 percent among 17-year-olds. The sharpest rise was seen in the age group 18 to 19 year-olds: from nearly 31 percent (2014) to over 48 percent (2018).

On 1 January 2018, there were over 11 million Dutch holders of a car driving licence (category B or BE). Even more Dutch people had a valid moped licence: nearly 11.3 million. Over 1.4 million adults possessed a Dutch motorcycle licence. Less common are the VHG licence and bus driver’s licence, with nearly 285 thousand and 580 thousand holders respectively.

Dutch passenger cars covered a total distance of 119 billion kilometres in 2016. The distance covered by one-year-old cars was 22.4 thousand km on average; cars aged 40 years or more (oldtimers) covered 1.7 thousand wkm on average. Oldtimers therefore accounted for over 243 million km (0.2 of the total). As for cars in between the two age categories, the distance travelled in a year decreases with the age of the vehicle.

On 1 July 2017, there were over 10 thousand electric bicycles with pedal assistance up to 45 km/h in the Netherlands. These so-called speed pedelecs must carry a moped licence as of 1 January 2017. This means that unless otherwise indicated, pedelec riders must use the main road, just like moped riders. Utrecht province has the largest share of speed pedelec owners: 76 per thousand inhabitants, followed by Overijssel and Zeeland.

In 2016, an average passenger car with Dutch licence plate reached an annual mileage of 13.2 thousand km. There are clear differences in mileage among the various fuel types. Cars run on CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquefied natural gas) had the highest mileage at nearly 25 thousand, followed by diesel-driven cars (23.8 thousand) and plug-in hybrids (23.4 thousand). At 10.7 thousand km, petrol-fuelled cars travelled the fewest kilometres.