Green policy grimaces in the Netherlands: the average age of the car fleet is higher than in Germany or Belgium

According to the default decision of the government, it is expected to stop the sale of new cars with a gasoline or diesel engine in the country already in 2030, hoping that in this way it will be possible to organically reduce the pollution caused by the transport sector.

According to the data of the Dutch “RAI” association, the decisions made by the country’s government are yielding positive results. For example, electric cars occupied 31 percent of the new car market last year. of the market, or 7.5 percent. more than in 2022

According to the association, such significant growth has been helped by generous subsidies and tax initiatives provided by the Dutch government, which will be valid until 2025, but behind these encouraging achievements lies a grim reality.

It will achieve its goal with higher taxes

Representatives of the Dutch government do not hide that electric vehicles are their only option. They do not hide it and claim that they will take any measures to force people to give up gasoline or diesel cars.

However, in order to achieve this goal, the government uses solutions that are not acceptable to everyone. Already in the Netherlands, drivers pay one of the highest registration and road taxes in Europe, and according to the latest proposal of the country’s politicians, the car registration fee is planned to increase by 100 percent from next year.

It is also proposed to establish obligations according to which biofuels would be mixed with other mineral fuels. It is predicted that one liter of gasoline and diesel will become more expensive by 5 to 10 cents as a result of this decision.

The car fleet is aging

Despite the changes taking place in the Netherlands, people are not inclined to switch from cars to public transport. More and more people are abandoning the idea of ​​buying a new car and instead are using their existing ones for longer.

Back in 2010, the volume of new sales in the Netherlands reached 479,882 units, in 2011 – 555,920 units, in 2012 – 502,544 units. however, increasing government pressure to switch to electric cars has duly reduced demand for new cars.

In 2020, the size of the Dutch new car market was 323,000 units. , 2021 – 324,710 units, 2022 – 312,129 units, and 2023 – 370,000 units.

As a result of these notable differences, the Dutch fleet average has reached a government-unverified threshold in the past few years.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the average age of the Dutch car fleet in 2022 was 11.7 years. For comparison, this indicator reached 11.4 years in 2021, and 11 years in 2019.

The situation is much better in the surrounding countries. In Belgium and Germany, the average age of the car fleet is 9.8 and 10 years, respectively. In France – 10.8 years, in the United Kingdom – 10.3 years.

Looking at this trend, one can get the impression that the government’s efforts to modernize the car fleet have a negative effect, as people inevitably began to buy less new cars and instead choose cheaper and more acceptable alternatives on the used car market.

Automotive Mediaventions used car market research showed that today the average price of a used car is as high as 23,786 euros, although most buyers are usually looking for machines with an average price of 16,998 euros. This means that the huge demand for used cars allows sellers to artificially inflate vehicle prices, which again limits people’s ability to upgrade to a newer car.

The least interested in electric cars

Automotive Mediaventions’ research also revealed what kind of cars the country’s residents are looking for.

54.8 percent used car buyers are looking for models with gasoline engines. 25.4 percent are looking in the direction of hybrid cars, while 8.5 percent are looking for diesels, which are oppressed in the Netherlands. drivers.

Electric cars ranked fourth in this study. Only 7.3 percent are considering its purchase. drivers.

In 2023, the used car market will grow to 1.29 million. units or 6.16 percent. more than in 2022.