Company managers and employers often prefer to extend their current contracts by one year rather than purchase a new company car to keep the old, more favourable corporate tax deduction rules in place for longer.
And if a new company car is purchased, it is greener but more expensive. By the end of 2024, 8 out of 10 new commercial vehicles were 100% electric.
An earlier study by the Federal Public Service Mobility had shown that the total number of company cars in Belgium was stagnating, despite an average annual increase of 5 percent over the previous 17 years.
Downward trend
According to HR service provider SD Worx, the number of new company cars fell by half last year. This downward trend has been going on for some time. HR service provider SD Worx analyzed data from more than 70,000 business leaders and 1.2 million employees in the private sector.
The slower pace of new purchases is due to the extension of current car contracts under the revised corporate tax deduction scheme. Tax deductibility is gradually being phased out, so companies prefer to renew contracts rather than purchase new company cars.
“Usually, the period during which the vehicle remains on the road is extended by one year, from four to five years,” says Veerle Michiels, mobility expert at SD Worx. Only purely electric commercial vehicles are 100% deductible. From 2027 onward, the deduction percentage for electric vehicles will also decrease.
Average emissions have almost halved
Among new registrations, 64 percent of company cars owned by company directors are electric, and the figure is even higher for employees at 77 percent. In just one year, the average emissions of a new company car have almost halved, from 32 grams per kilometer at the end of 2024 to 17 grams.
For comparison, 21 percent of all employee company cars on the road are electric. Another 45 percent run on gasoline and 34 percent on diesel.
New commercial vehicles are becoming more expensive. The average list price was 7 percent higher at €48,938. The top five professions with the most company cars are engineers, administrative professions, such as management assistants, purchasers, and salespeople, financial managers, and technicians, who often have to visit customers.
