Subsidies for second-hand electric cars all claimed

The fund from which private individuals can receive a subsidy if they purchase a second-hand electric car is empty for this year. The idea of the subsidy is that not only people who buy a new car or drive for business receive support if they choose such a vehicle.

6,750 people received 2,000 euros to buy an electric car. This means that the budgeted 13.5 million euros has been used up. The scheme will reopen on 1 January. 18.3 million euros is available for 2022.

"Of course I would also like more people to be eligible for the rest of this year to buy an electric car with a subsidy. But I think it is especially good news that so many people are already opting for electric driving with this support," said caretaker State Secretary Steven van Weyenberg of Infrastructure and Water Management in a statement.

The scheme already existed last year, but not all the available money was used then. According to the Ministry, there are now almost 200,000 electric cars on Dutch roads. This concerns both hydrogen-powered cars and cars that run on batteries.

These vehicles do not emit greenhouse gases while driving. The scheme contributes to achieving the climate goals which, incidentally, seem unlikely to be achieved with the current government policy

Various organizations, including ANWB and BOVAG, argue that the total subsidy amount that the government reserved for the coming years should be made available now. According to the organizations, the government reserved a total of 252 million euros up to and including 2025, but this amount will be spread out over years. "People may want to buy an electric car. That shows. And the CO2 profit that you make now, you book every year that the car drives around. Why then wait with the distribution of that subsidy until four years from now?"

According to the organizations, the Netherlands must pull out all the stops to achieve the climate agreements of the Paris Climate Agreement. "Then you have to be generous with the available budget," said the organizations. "The United Nations climate report that came out this month was crystal clear about that: from now on we have to make very CO2 gain we can make."