Company cars clocked more all-electric kilometers than diesel for the first time

Last year, business drivers of passenger cars covered more kilometers in fully-electric vehicles than in diesel vehicles, including hybrids, for the first time, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Thursday. As a whole, Netherlands residents spent more time in their cars last year.

In 2023, a total of 5.9 billion business kilometers were driven fully electrically, and 3.6 billion kilometers on diesel. Like with private individuals, petrol cars remain the favorite for business vehicles. Business drivers covered nearly 14 billion kilometers with petrol cars, including hybrids, last year.

In 2018, most business kilometers were still driven with a diesel car. Five years later, that had fallen by three-quarters. CBS attributes that to Dutch municipalities’ implementation of environmental and emission-free zones, banning polluting diesel vehicles in these areas.

All-in-all, Netherlands residents drove 119.5 billion kilometers in 2023, 4.3 percent more than a year earlier, but still 1.4 percent less than in pre-pandemic 2019. The kilometers driven by private individuals were still 0.8 percent below the pre-pandemic level. For business drivers, that was 3.4 percent.

Last year, private individuals covered 94 billion kilometers in their cars, an average of 11,200 kilometers per car. Petrol cars were, by far, the most popular, accounting for 79 percent of all kilometers covered.

Among private individuals, the number of kilometers driven on diesel also decreased, falling by 36 percent compared to five years earlier to 13.2 billion. The number of electric kilometers rose from 142.6 million in 2018 to 2.6 billion in 2023.