Features
30 Aug 19

Less than 1 in 5 employers push EVs as company cars

Dutch employers do very little to encourage their drivers to pick EVs or hybrids for their next company car. Just 18% - less than 1 in 5 - ask them to consider fuel type when choosing their new vehicle, a study by EVBox shows. 

In fact, fuel type is the least popular limit on company car choice, the Sustainable Mobility Monitor shows (pictured: EV charging station in central Amsterdam). 

  • The monthly lease price is the most frequently invoked limit on vehicle choice (39.6%).
  • Second-most frequently invoked limit on company car choice is the vehicle brand (26.9%).
  • A close third is the vehicle’s catalog price (25.8%).
  • In a quarter of cases, there is no limit whatsoever on vehicle choice. 
  • In less than 1 in 5 cases, fuel type is a guiding criterion in vehicle choice (18%).

That’s a disappointing state of affairs, says Kristof Vereenooghe, CEO of EVBox: “The corporate market is an important cornerstone for the used-vehicle market. More than half of newly-purchased cars and LCVs in the Netherlands are leased. Those will reappear on the private market as used vehicles. Globally, vehicles emit almost a quarter of CO2. So it’s important that the corporate market sets a good example.”

Fuel of choice

Some other results of the survey:

  • Most (57.7%) Dutch corporate drivers drive at least 20,000 km per year. A quarter adds more than 40,000 km to the odometer per annum. 
  • Diesel remains the fuel of choice for corporate drivers, but its market share has slipped just below half (49.9%).
  • Petrol takes 38.1% of the market, hybrids represent 7.3% and EVs are 3.2%. The remainder is taken up by LPG. 

Growing consensus

“The time has come to push diesel from the throne,” says Mr. Vereenooghe. “I hope that leasing companies and employers want to contribute to this.” The survey points to a growing consensus in that direction. 

  • 40% of drivers surveyed said they were considering getting an electric or hybrid vehicle as their next company car. 
  • That’s exactly as much as are still considering going for a diesel or petrol car (40%)
  • The remaining 20% were ‘unsure’.

Bicycle plan

Another alternative to combustion-engine mobility is cycling - which is especially popular in the Netherlands. The government wants to get an additional 200,000 commuters on their cycles or using public transport. Employers can help achieve this goal.

  • More than one in ten employers have a bicycle plan that provides employees who cycle to work with tax breaks (11.9%).
  • A smaller share of employers offers employees bicycles via a leasing formula (6.3%).
  • Almost 1 in 25 employees indicate their employer provides corporate bicycles free of charge. 

The Sustainable Mobility Monitor is an annual survey conducted for EVBox, a global manufacturer of durable EV charging stations and charging management software. For this year’s survey, more than 1,000 Dutch corporate drivers were interviewed about their habits and expectations.

Authored by: Frank Jacobs