Dutch new car sales fall 13 % in January; Electric vehicle registrations plunge 35 %

The Dutch automotive market started 2026 with a sharp drop in new car sales, particularly for fully electric vehicles, official figures show.

In January, only 28,347 new cars were registered in the Netherlands, a decline of 13.1 percent compared with 32,624 registrations in January 2025, according to RAI Vereniging, BOVAG, and RDC. Fully electric vehicles (EVs) fell 35.4 percent, with 7,165 units registered, down from 11,089 a year earlier. This pushed EV market share down to 25.3 percent, from 34 percent in January 2025.

Hybrid vehicles, which combine an electric motor with a combustion engine, recorded significant growth. Registrations rose 18.4 percent to 17,571, increasing the market share for hybrids to 62 percent. Gasoline cars totaled 3,348 registrations, or 11.8 percent of the market, while diesel and LPG vehicles remained marginal at 249 and 14 registrations, respectively.

A spokesperson for BOVAG attributed the January decline in part to “registrations that were brought forward” due to a strong sales push at the end of last year. Market researcher Aumacon suggested that the cold winter weather contributed to the weak start. “It was a somewhat disappointing start after the recovery of car sales in the second half of last year,” the firm said.

In January, the most registered cars were the Suzuki Swift (727), Hyundai i10 (629), Toyota Aygo X (615), Škoda Kodiaq (577), and Hyundai Kona (558). Among electric vehicles, the Kia EV3 led with 315 registrations, followed by the Tesla Model Y (293), Volvo EX30 (278), Renault 5 (271), and Hyundai Inster (263).

Last year, a total of 388,024 cars were registered, marking a 1.7 percent increase compared with 2024. Tesla, previously the market leader in electric vehicles, saw its January sales drop to 307 units from 927 a year earlier.