Two in ten electric cars are purchased by private individuals, but that will change quickly | Car

The fully electric car continues its rise, according to recent figures from sector organization Febiac. In the first nine months of the year, 18.3 percent of newly registered cars were fully electric. Last year that was still 10.3 percent. The increase is all the more impressive because the market share of new electric cars in 2020 was barely 3.5 percent.

Things are moving very quickly now, says Jochen De Smet of EV Belgium, the federation involved in developing the market for zero-emission mobility. “At the beginning of this year, the 100,000th electric car was registered, this year we will end up just shy of 200,000 and next year we will reach the 350,000th. Leasing companies are making a major move towards: full electric. I hear impressive figures: 70, 75 and sometimes even 80 percent of new lease cars are electric.”

Of the newly registered electric cars, 80.8 percent are registered in the name of a company. 19.2 percent is owned by private individuals. The switch by private individuals is indeed happening less quickly and that has everything to do with the still high cost of electric cars. This is also gradually changing, and it has nothing to do with Chinese manufacturers coming to Europe. “Because they currently mainly offer premium cars of 40,000 euros and more and not the cheaper models.”

The switch to an electric fleet among private owners will come from European manufacturers. “They are working on more accessible electric cars. This week the news was very striking that Citroën presented an electric car of the C3 model with a price of 23,300 euros. Minus the premium from the Flemish government, you will have an electric car for 18,300 euros. Volkswagen is also coming with the ID 2. You can see that the market for private individuals is being stimulated. I expect the major rollout of affordable models in 2025.”