SD Worx: ‘Half of private sector employees use own car to go to work’

Contrary to popular belief, most cars on the road are not company cars. At least half of private sector employees use their own car to get to work. In SMEs, half of employers (54%) offer a company car.

Belgian SMEs’ costs to provide company cars have also increased significantly, by an average of 30%, over the past three years due to the higher initial costs of electric vehicles. Consequently, the cars offered are getting smaller, increasing employee discontent.

Recent research by SD Worx, conducted in June 2024 among 670 SME and HR managers, shows that most company cars are used as functional vehicles, mainly to visit customers.

Greening fleets

Under the influence of new tax and social rules, SMEs are trying to green their vehicle fleets. Currently, 14% of company cars are electric, 28% hybrid, and 58% still run on fossil fuels.

Most SME budgets have increased compared to three years ago, mainly due to the higher (lease) prices of electric cars. Four of ten SMEs indicate they can no longer guarantee employees a vehicle of the same category. In two out of ten SMEs, this leads to dissatisfaction among employees because their cars are getting smaller.

Mobility budget

Only one in seven SMEs (15%) receives a request from employees for an electric car, compared to 18% two years ago. More than half of SMEs (55%) are waiting because they still encounter too many obstacles. However, 45% remain convinced that the share of electric cars will increase in the future.

According to Anneleen Verstraeten, SD Worx’s SME counselor, one in three SMEs is unfamiliar with the mobility budget, which involves an employee exchanging his company car for a more environmentally friendly alternative.

‘Functional car’

For six out of ten SMEs, this is not feasible for practical reasons because company cars are needed to visit customers. So, handing in the car for cash, housing costs, public transport, or a bicycle is more difficult for employees with a ‘functional’ car. The only option left is to choose an environmentally friendly car, which is often smaller and not always convenient for a young family.

Today, only seven percent of SME employers want to introduce the mobility budget. In two years, this figure has risen slightly in Flanders and Wallonia to 8% and 6%, respectively. In Brussels, it has fallen from 8% to 4%.