A large number of the electric cars bought in the Netherlands with the aid of government subsidies have been exported, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Tuesday.

Figures from the car sector information centre VWE show almost 1,000 electric cars were exported last year, around 12% of the total Dutch electric fleet, the paper says.

Half of the electric cars exported last year were less than a year old. The Nissan Leaf and Tesla S were popular types.

A spokesman for motoring organisation Bovag said the figures are surprising. ‘Usually, cars are not exported until they are three or four years old and their lease period is up,’ a spokesman said. ‘Something else is going on here.’

Norway

Many of them end up in Norway. Norway is an attractive export destination because second-hand cars are expensive, toll-free and automatically qualify for a parking permit, the FD says. Germans and Russians are also keen to buy second-hand Dutch electric cars.

The Dutch government has been keen to subsidise electric car use, and in some cases the benefits can amount to half the purchase price. Both Amsterdam and Rotterdam operate schemes to encourage electric car use.

A finance ministry spokesman told the paper officials would look into the claims that many almost new electric cars are being exported.