Netherlands
Chapter 1: Economic and business environment
| Demographics | 17,134,703 inhabitants (July 2017) |
|---|---|
| Capital | Amsterdam |
| Major cities | Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Groningen, Almere, Breda, Nijmegen |
| Languages | Dutch |
| GDP | 470bn euro (2016) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% (Dec. 2016) |
| Main industries | The Netherlands has a developed economy and has been playing a special role in the European economy for many centuries. Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, agriculture, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy.
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| Currency | Euro |
| Political key info | The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues. The executive power is formed by the council of Ministers. |
| Inflation | 0.3% |
Chapter 2 : Automotive market, segments & sales
| Total Car park | 8,336,000 (2016, source RDC) |
|---|---|
| New vehicle registrations (Cars, LCV, Trucks) | 385,259 (2016, source RDC) |
| Top 5 brands (total market) |
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| Model preference top 5 (total market) |
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| Dealer network (including fleet dealer network) | Approximately 2,100 points of sale. Accoring to the Automotive Dealer holding Top 60, the 10 largest dealer groups have a market share in new sales of 33%. |
| Used car market/renewal cycle | 1,128,313 in 2016, a rise of 4.7% in comparison with 2015. In the first half of 2017, used-car sales declined by 1.8% while new car sales increased by 16.8% |
Chapter 3: Company car market
| Total Fleet Park (company cars)/Fleet penetration in total fleet sales | 140,722 in 2016, approximately 40% of new car sales. It was a heavy decline because of changing tax laws. In the first half of 2017, fleet sales increased with 40% to 87,751 vehicles; about 45% of the total new car registrations in the first half of 2017. | ||||||
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| Evolution fleet sales (last 5 years) |
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| Top 5 fleet brands (fleet market) |
* (H1-2017) | ||||||
| Fleet Model preference top 5 (fleet market) |
*(H1-2017) |
Chapter 4: Taxation & legislation
Get the complete analysis about taxation and legislation in the Fleet Europe Taxation Guide, developed in collaboration with PWC. Click here for more info
4.1. Car Taxation
Owners of consumer vehicles in the Netherlands pay vehicle tax (motorrijtuigenbelasting or MRB), a tax for using a car on public roads. The MRB varies based on vehicle weight and its fuel type. The provinces add a surcharge (in %) to this vehicle tax, the so-called opcenten.
There is also a vehicle registration tax (belasting van personenauto's en motorrijwielen or BPM). Historically, this has always been a percentage of the car's list price but today it is based on the car's CO2 emissions. Additionally, there has been a fixed 350 euro fee since 2017.
When importing a used car, people can use a BPM table to calculate how much they will need to pay. When exporting a car, similar tables determine how much BPM will be reimbursed as the BPM is based on the assumption that the car will stay in the Netherlands forever.
4.2. Income tax – Taxable persons
Everyone with a job is a taxable person. If you are an employee who uses his company car also for personal purposes, you have to pay a tax on benefit in kind (bijtelling). If you drive less than 500 kilometres a year for personal use, you don’t have to pay this bijtelling.
The benefit in kind tax rate depends on your income. Every lessee (the person driving the company car and paying the bijtelling) should add 22% of the car's list price to their income, resulting in a higher income tax. Only cars with zero emission pay 4% benefit in kind tax.
4.3. Company car
For company cars, lessees must add 22% of the car's list price to their income (bijtelling), resulting in a higher income tax. Only zero-emission cars have a bijtelling of 0%. Previously, there was a bonus for plug-in hybrids and hybrids. Since 2017, the bijtelling has been the same for every car. Whereas the Netherlands used to be a great market for hybrids like the Prius, these now pay the same amount of tax as conventional powertrains.
4.4. Income tax – drivers’ personal taxation
cf. 4.2 and 4.3
4.5. Electric vehicles
The Dutch government sticks by its decision to increase the ‘bijtelling’ (a tax on private use of company cars) on EVs to 8% in 2020, Automotive Magazine writes, citing “well-informed sources”. As of 17 September 2019, the news has not been officially confirmed.
If the decision follows previously discussed proposals, the ‘bijtelling’ for EVs will rise from 4% this year to 8% in 2020, 12% in 2021, 16% in 2022, 17% in 2025 and 22% in 2026.
In a related measure, the cap on the ‘bijtelling’ will be lowered from €50,000 to €45,000, Automotive Magazine writes. EVs with a ticket price higher than those amounts will have a ‘bijtelling’ similar to fossil-fuel cars – i.e. a higher one.
Combined, both measures will doubtlessly have a dampening effect on the adoption of EVs in the Netherlands.
Dutch auto trade organisations are not against an increase per se but object to this one, which contradicts previous statements. This means that around 10,000 EVs ordered for delivery next year will be taxed at double the rate of ‘bijtelling’ than was expected.
Source: Automotive
4.6. Future developments
All the tax regulations for cars are fixed until 2020. A new policy will be introduced after that date. Some lobbyists are pushing for the introduction of tax incentives for electric vehicles but these haven't been materialised yet.
4.7. Legal background (import taxes)
If you import a car, you have to pay the vehicle registration tax depending on the car's CO2 emissions and its age. If you bought the car in an EU country, you don’t have to pay import taxes. If you buy a car from outside the EU, you have to pay both.
Chapter 5: Car policies
Company car entitlement
There a two types of entitlements: the company car as an employee benefit or as a necessary tool to do the job.
Which sectors provide most fleet cars?
IT services, defence, construction, accountancy.
