Tesla is no longer the most popular electric car brand in NL

Tesla is no longer the most sold electric car in the Netherlands as new tax rules and wider choice impact its place in the rankings, the Financieele Dagblad said on Tuesday.

In the first five months of this year, the Skoda Enyaq has built up market share of 11.8%, more than double that of Tesla, which had 18% of the Dutch market last year.

Kia, Volkswagen and Volvo have also overtaken Tesla in the rankings. ‘There is much more choice now,’ a spokesman for the RAI motoring organisation told the paper.

One reason for the downturn in the Tesla’s popularity is changes in the tax rules for company cars. The maximum catalogue price to be eligible for a tax cut has been reduced from €45,000 to €40,000, and the cheapest Tesla is now around €49,000, the FD pointed out.

Company car drivers with an electric vehicle which cost more than €40,000 have to add 22% of that to their annual income for tax purposes. Below €40,000, the figure is 12%.

In total 10,277 electric cars were registered in the first five months of this year, down on both 2019 and 2020.

At the same time, the number of hybrid vehicles sold more than doubled to 43,714, the RAI association said.