The number of new cars sold in the Netherlands crumbled by 36% in the first six months of this year, according to industry body Bovag.

In June car sales more than halved compared with a year ago, Bovag said. This was partly due to a surge in sales in June 2012, the last month in which buyers could benefit from a tax break on low-emission vehicles.

Insiders expect sales to pick up a little in the second half of the year because the tax breaks on environmentally-friendly cars will be tightened up again next year, news agency ANP reported.

Green cars

Meanwhile, MPs from the Christian Democratic party on Tuesday called for further changes to the government’s green car policies. They claim the various benefits can add up to €10,000 per car.

‘The subsidies are no longer in proportion to the environmental benefits such cars deliver,’ MP Pieter Omtzigt is quoted by website nu.nl as saying.

Green cars are subject to a zero rate of sales tax and lower road tax, plus a string of other employer benefits.