The half-millionth fully-electric passenger vehicle was registered in Belgium earlier this week. To celebrate this milestone, advocacy group EV Belgium held a small ceremony, handing over the keys to a new Polestar. It also reflected the positive market developments that enabled accelerated growth in EV adoption in Belgium.
Three years ago, in early 2023, the 100,000th electric car was registered in Belgium. Now, that number has increased fivefold, with the EV market still growing rapidly, mainly thanks to the fleet segment. EV Belgium expects the 600,000th EV to arrive before the end of the year, with a million in sight by the end of the decade.
Business fleets as the locomotive…
Of course, the big pull towards electrification has come from business fleets, thanks to fiscal incentives that currently apply only to electric cars (although self-employed people can still partly deduct plug-in hybrids). But as the first large wave of electric cars approaches the end of their lease contracts, the second-hand market has been growing as well.
… but the infrastructure and supply have improved, too
And let’s not forget the development of infrastructure, which has greatly improved the ease of use of electric vehicles in Belgium. With over 120,000 charging points, Belgium trails only the Netherlands and Denmark in terms of charging points per inhabitant. Although the lion’s share of those chargers is found in Flanders, with its denser population and larger EV market share.
Finally, with more affordable electric models available, private customers are increasingly inclined to consider an electric car. “When a potential buyer can choose between equivalent models at the same price, but with a clear advantage [for EVs] in terms of ownership costs, the choice is easily made”, says Philippe Vangeel, director of EV Belgium.
With the rapid growth of the EV market, fully electric cars have also overtaken plug-in hybrids in Belgium. There are fewer than 400,000 PHEVs on Belgian roads, compared to over 500,000 BEVs. A gap that will only increase over the years as PHEVs lose their appeal to professional customers, even with the advent of range-extended EVs from China.
Commercial vehicles next?
“The success of the program for passenger cars and buses should serve as a solid blueprint for the electrification of other vehicle segments that are not gaining sufficient traction in Belgium, such as vans and trucks,” emphasizes Philippe Vangeel.
“The transition and economic benefits will be the same there as well; the only question is whether the government wants to take the lead in this with the industry or simply go along with this economic progress.”
