Partena Professional’s latest survey reveals some interesting insights on the trends and evolutions of Belgian company cars. As the share of diesel power is, for the first time, matched by fully electric models, plug-in hybrids showed a substantial rise in 2023. Also, on average, company cars for men are 18% more expensive than for women.

According to the study by HR service provider Partena Professional, hybrid cars (self-charging and pluggable) today represent one-third of Belgian company cars (30,8 percent). The most popular driveline still is gasoline (34,35 percent), representing a more or less stable share compared to previous years.

Eclipsing diesel

Strongly rising in these statistics are battery-powered models. With a share of 17,1 percent, they roughly added 10% to the number of last year’s survey, and today, they eclipse the percentage of diesel models for the first time (17,1 percent). “As the social contribution (for ICE models, ed.), which employers must pay for the cars they offer their employees, rises on the 1^st of July, the importance of fully electric models will only become stronger,” says Ann Ghysels, Legal Expert, at Partena Professional.

This particular growth for battery-powered cars, rather than hybrids, is further driven by a new set of rules demoting the favorable fiscal deductibility of plug-in hybrids.

Rising purchase price

Partena Professional’s survey also reveals a rising purchase price. The larger share of more expensive electrified models lifted the median price by 5,5% to 35 524 euros. The spread between the different powertrains is quite significant. The median price tag for gasoline cars is 29 128 euros, while for battery-powered, it’s 59 020 euros.

Partena Professional also took note of gender-related and hierarchical differences. Women, on average, choose a car that is 18% less expensive than their male colleagues, while the median for managers’ and directors’ company cars is 66 734 euros.

Average CO2 emissions

Turn back the clock to 2019, when diesel drivelines were still thriving, with a share of more than 60% of company registrations. The collapse in this year’s survey shows that the technology has completely lost ground due to city bans and a distorted public image, which their low consumption and wide range can no longer compensate for.

Interestingly, this negatively affects the average carbon emissions of the company car fleet. The strong diesel share pushed CO2 averages back to 106 g/km in 2020. For 2023, Partena Professional expects 109 g/km.