For years, mainly business lease drivers drove around in electric cars, helped by low addition rates. For private individuals, a plug-in car was still too expensive to purchase, but that has now changed, according to the ANWB.
The association annually compares the average total costs of a new petrol and electric car. And they are very close to each other this year: 57 cents per kilometer for electric and 56.4 cents for petrol. That is based on four years of use and 15,000 kilometers per year.
More expensive purchase, lower costs
"An electric car is more expensive to purchase," says Marco van Eenennaam, project leader for electric driving at the ANWB. "But you earn that back through lower maintenance costs, lower energy costs and lower taxes." The ANWB also thinks it is positive that the average range of electric cars is increasing: from 205 kilometers in 2018 to 268 kilometers last year and 305 kilometers this year.
The range is also increasingly in line with consumer needs. In the price range up to 50,000 euros, you now have a choice of 31 different cars. Last year there were 22.
What is still a problem, according to the ANWB, is that there are still very few small, cheap electric cars, the so-called A-class cars. An allowance would also help. "This year there was a purchase subsidy, which roughly halved the additional costs of electric. But that subsidy pot was empty within a week," says Van Eenennaam. "That pot really needs to be bigger. Many people are still struggling with the price."
Ban in 2030
There are now more than 153,000 electric cars on the road in the Netherlands. That is double compared to last year. But in a total fleet of about 9 million cars, the share of e-cars is still relatively small.
The government plans to ban the sale of cars powered by fossil fuels by 2030. According to the ANWB, a purchase subsidy must continue to exist in order to achieve that goal. There must also be more affordable models and a large second-hand market must be created.
ANWB Electric driving monitor
Source 1: Electric car now also available to private individuals, says ANWB
Source 2: The Electric Driving Monitor 2020