1 in 50 new Belgian employees chooses mobility budget over company car
In 2022, more than 1 in 50 new employees in Belgium chose a mobility budget over a company car. The exact figure is 2.22%, which is a 55% increase over 2021. So says a survey by HR service provider Acerta, published ahead of the 4th anniversary of Belgium’s introduction of the mobility budget on 1 March.
The survey, of 40,000 companies representing 260,000 employees, gauges the popularity of the mobility budget (in short: a legal framework for alternatives to the company car – explainer here). A few remarkable results:
- Just 1.64% of all employees entitled to a company car currently opt for the mobility budget instead.
- The system is notably more popular with new employees, 2.22% of which prefer the mobility budget over a company car. That’s a year-on-year increase of 55%.
- Employees who opt for a mobility budget, can spend it on any of three pillars: a replacement car, mobility alternatives, or a cash payment. The Acerta survey shows the second pillar is gaining popularity, while the third one is shrinking.
- Specifically, the use of the second pillar (which includes options such as sustainable mobility but also green housing if the employee lives less than 10 km from their place of work, or work more than 60% of their time from home) has increased by 49%.
- The use of the third pillar (i.e. cash payment of the remaining amount) has dropped from 0.10% in 2021 to 0.06% in 2022.
Acerta points to a the (mandatory) electrification of Belgium’s corporate fleets as a potential lever for the popularization of mobility budgets. There’s also a potential stumbling block, though: the law does not provide for the mobility budget to be adjusted for inflation. The employer has to choose to do so themselves.
Image: non-car traffic in Brussels (via Shutterstock)
