Febiac and Renta, the federations of car manufacturers and rental firms in Belgium, are warning that the implementation of a mandatory mobility budget in the lease sector in Belgium as of the 1st of January 2026 is completely unrealistic and will cost the federal government some €10à million.
Febiac and Renta emphasize the importance of company cars as the motor of business mobility, but also welcome all mobility modes that make commuting and business travel easier and more comfortable.
“The federal mobility budget can be a valuable and strong lever in this transition,” they claim, ” but there is one major condition: the rules have to be simple, clear, and focused on the core aim: providing the possibilities to as many employees as possible to choose their transport and mobility mode.”
To realize this, companies must be given enough time to implement this mobility budget in their organization, and that’s where things are going wrong, according to Febiac and Renta.
Too hastily
The federal government wants to make the offering of a mobility budget mandatory. Employees will have an alternative to the company car, then. The federal government also foresaw a reform of the formula and an expansion to all employees, not only those who are entitled to have a company car.
According to Febia and Renta, almost all experts admit that this move requires a significant gestation period to prepare and implement the necessary changes. And that’s what the government is omitting now, with its sudden proposal to set 1 January 2026 as the implementation date. “This will force many employers to look for experts. A very recent survey in the HR sector showed that half of all employers are not or only partially aware of the obligation and its implications.”
Impact on the federal budget
According to Febiac and Renta, the hasty implementation will also have serious costs: they estimate it at as high as €100 million. Another survey of the two federations indicates that at this time, 10% of company car users are open to a mobility budget instead of their current car. That’s 60,000 employees out of the 600,000 that drive a company car for the moment.
What the survey doesn’t learn us is how many additional mobility budget users there will be if the possibility is opened to all employees. Logically, the people who already have the benefits of a company car are the least inclined to change to a mobility budget.
Stijn Blanckaert, CEO of Renta: “The federal government will lose (para)fiscal revenue in three ways: taxes on company cars, taxes on the use of company cars for the employees (benefit in kind), and the corporate taxes involved. The average annual sum per car is €1,700. With 60,000 conversions, this will create an additional gap of €100 million in the federal budget.”
Frank Van Gool, CEO of Febiac, concludes: “The implications of this decision are much further-reaching than thought, economically, financially, and practically. That’s why we urgently call upon the federal government to reform the mobility budget and to expand it for all employees. A mandatory implementation can follow later. There’s absolutely no need for over-hastening in such an important process.”
