Smaller electric cars are becoming increasingly popular as company cars, Arval reported on Wednesday.
For the first time, two smaller electric vehicles (BEVs) are at the top of the most ordered company cars at the leasing and mobility solutions company.
"We knew that these smaller BEVs were catching up," says Christophe Janssen, senior mobility leader at Arval Mobility Observatory Belgium.
"They are improving in all areas and are also cheaper, which means they are more affordable. Now the time has come: they are leaving their combustion engine competitors behind."
More than 8 out of 10 cars (85.5%) ordered by the business world from Arval in the first half of the year are fully electric vehicles. The share of fully electric cars in new orders continues to grow steadily. Less than 10% (8.19%) still run on petrol or diesel. And just over 6% are plug-in hybrids.
According to Arval, the most popular affordable electric cars are the Kia EV3 and the Skoda Elroq. The BMW iX1 completes the top three.
"These cars now beat their petrol-powered competitors in terms of TCO – the total cost including maintenance, other services and taxes. In the past, it was the other way around. These latest smaller electric cars often perform just as well in terms of range and performance as the larger models from a few years ago," says Janssen.
It is also striking that the American electric car manufacturer Tesla, which in recent years had secured a permanent place in the list of most popular commercial vehicles with its Model 3 and Model Y, now ranks only 11th with the Model 3 and 14th with the Model Y.
Tesla's popularity worldwide has suffered from the behaviour of CEO Elon Musk, who has taken on a controversial political role in the US
Another observation is that, while Chinese car brands are gradually becoming well established in countries such as Norway and the United Kingdom, this has not yet been achieved in Belgium via the leasing market.
As a possible explanation, Arval points to the high European import taxes that drive up the price for users here.
