On 1 January 2019, the number of registered motor vehicles stood at 12.7 million. This was 1.8 percent up on one year previously. This year, there are 8.5 million passenger cars (1.9 percent more than in 2018). Trailers and tractors for semi-trailers saw the fastest rise, by 4.4 and 3.9 percent respectively. The number of delivery vans increased as well: by 3.6 percent. Buses saw the strongest year-on-year decline; there were over 9.7 thousand buses at the beginning of 2019, nearly 2 percent down on the previous year.

In 2016, over one-quarter or 27 percent of Dutch households – altogether about 2.1 million households – had no (lease) car, (light) moped, scooter, motorcycle or delivery van. Of the more than 3 million households in the lowest income group, 46 percent did not own a motor vehicle and 27 percent did not have any member with a driving licence either. In the highest income group, virtually all households possessed at least one motor vehicle, in most cases a (lease) car.

At the beginning of 2019, almost 80 percent of the Dutch population aged 17 and over – approximately 11.2 million people – owned a passenger car driving licence. This is 1 percent more than one year previously. 85 percent of Dutch men aged 17 years and over had a driving licence, versus 75 percent of women. The gap between men and women is largest among the over-70s with 85 percent of the men owning a licence at the start of this year versus 53 percent of the women.

In 2017, 2.9 million passenger cars received at least one speeding ticket. Cars with a higher annual mileage received more tickets. Calculated per 100 thousand kilometres, cars with low annual mileage received relatively many speeding tickets: those with an annual mileage of less than 5 thousand km received 5.7 tickets on average, against 3.5 speeding tickets for cars with over 50 thousand km per year.

On 1 January 2018, there were nearly 1.9 million registered passenger cars older than 15 years, more than double the number ten years previously. In the span of a decade, the number of these so-called youngtimers (15 to 39 years old) and oldtimers (40 years and over) went up by nearly 8 percent per year on average. The total passenger car fleet grew by 1 percent on average in the period 2008–2018. This means the share of youngtimers and oldtimers in the car fleet went up: from 12 percent in 2008 to 22 percent at the start of 2018.

At the beginning of 2019, the Netherlands had nearly 315 thousand electric vehicles. This was almost 43 thousand more than one year previously. A share of 56 percent were hybrids (HEVs). There were almost 176 thousand HEVs at the beginning of 2019, up by over 15 percent on the previous year. The number of fully electric vehicles (FEVs) doubled in the span of one year and almost reached 45 thousand.

In 2017, Dutch-registered motor vehicles (not including motorcycles and mopeds) covered a total distance of 147.6 billion km. This is 0.7 percent up on the previous year. Delivery vans accounted for the largest relative and absolute increase. Vans covered altogether 17.7 billion km, 3.4 percent more than in 2016. Passenger cars drove a distance exceeding 119 billion km in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 0.4 percent. Relative to 2007, the distance covered by all motor vehicles increased by 4.5 percent. Nearly 7 percent increase was recorded in passenger car traffic while lorry traffic decreased by nearly one-quarter.

At the beginning of 2018, the Netherlands had 538 passenger cars per thousand inhabitants. Ownership rates are highest in the age group 50 to 64 years: 663 cars per thousand inhabitants. The lowest ownership rates are seen in the youngest group – aged 18 to 29 years – at 287 per thousand inhabitants. Over the past decade, car ownership has seen a rising year-on-year trend among the over-75s. Ownership rates in this age group exceeded that of the 18 to 29‑year-olds in early 2018.