Acerta: ‘22% of all Belgian employees got a company car’

According to HR company Acerta, there have never been as many company cars. In 2021, 22% of all employees benefited from one, which is 2,6% more than in 2020, and even 26,1% more than five years ago. Nearly two-thirds of company cars are still diesel-powered, while hybrids grew in one year from 2,5% to 5,7% market share.

In its sixth mobility barometer, Acerta notes that in 2021 due to the pandemic and the push for telework, 80% of home-to-work journeys were made partly by car. Furthermore, 60% of all employees only use their car for the daily commute.

¼ of all employees

In its recent mobility barometer, HR company Acerta notes that the popularity of company cars is growing. The tendency brought to light by the office managing 330 000 workers’ mobility is also confirmed by the Belgian Federation for Leasing Companies (Renta). All in all, 22% of all employees in Belgium have benefited from a company car. It’s 2,6% more than the previous year, 8,3% more than before the pandemic, and even 26,1% more than in 2016.

No wonder, then, that most home-to-work trips were made by car (80%). The pandemic and the current work situation created a particular ecosystem, where the global number of company cars on the road has increased but new registrations have fallen back. Proof that the fleet is aging, due to the freeze on fleet renewal in 2020 and economic difficulties linked to Covid-19.

Hybrids up

Still, according to Acerta’s data, most company cars are running on diesel (67,1%) but their share is dropping. Hybrids, for their part, have grown from 2,5% to 5,7% in one year, although it is still not much in spite of their fiscal advantage. Talking of fiscally advantageous: electric cars numbers are still low with only 1,4% of company cars running on electricity.

In its recent 2021 market analysis, the Belgian Automotive and Cycle Federation (Febiac) notes that the progression of plug-in hybrid and electric car sales is led by companies and the self-employed (9 in 10). In terms of registrations, the three most popular company cars in 2021 were the Volvo XC40, BMW X1, and BMW 3 Series.

Public transport down

Bicycles haven’t much moved in terms of share between 2021 and 2020, but they remain a popular option as one-third of Belgian workers chose to pedal to work or for a part of their journey. With the pandemic, the biggest loser, however, is public transport. While 8,3% of workers used buses, trams, and trains for their daily commute in 2019, that share has dropped to 7,8% last year.