Will EVs make up half the Dutch new-car market in 2024?
22 May 2024
With significant growth so far this year, electric vehicles (EVs) could account for over half of all new-car deliveries in the country by the end of 2024. José Pontes, data director at EV Volumes (part of J.D. Power), looks at the market’s performance with Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker.
The Dutch EV market grew 11% in April, thanks to a total of 13,274 registrations. Consisting of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), EVs took a 46.6% market share in the month. Meanwhile, overall new-car deliveries receded by 4%.
BEVs claimed a 32% share of the overall market, with 9,092 registrations. This means that both plug-ins and BEVs are ahead of last year’s result of 44% and 31% respectively.
All-electric vehicles represented 68% of the EV market last month, above the year-to-date average of 66%.
EVs could account for 51% of all deliveries in the Netherlands by the end of 2024. BEVs alone are expected to take a 36% share. Continuing at this pace plug-ins could achieve an 80% share by 2028, rising to 90% by 2030.
Volvo EX30 excels
The Volvo EX30 was the Netherland’s most popular EV in April, with 1,459 registrations. The crossover also finished second in the overall best-sellers table.
The Tesla Model Y came second last month, posting 1,048 deliveries. The midsize SUV took third in the overall new-car table.
Rounding out the top three in the EV chart was the Kia Niro, thanks to 1,020 registrations. However, because the crossover benefitted from additional hybrid powertrain volumes, it led the overall best-sellers table in April.
The Volvo EX/XC40 finished fourth last month, reaching 701 units. Despite being over 300 units behind, the Tesla Model 3 took fifth with 400 deliveries.
Securing sixth was the Hyundai Kona EV with 348 registrations. This marked the best performance to date for the model’s second generation. The compact SUV was boosted by a non-BEV powertrain variant to reach fourth in the overall market table.
There was a tie for eighth place in the EV table between the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV and the BMW X1 PHEV, which were the most popular plug-in hybrid models. Both registered 233 units.
There was also a joint finish in 10th, as the Skoda Enyaq and Volvo XC60 PHEV both posted 225 deliveries. This meant three models from the Swedish brand featured in the top 10.
SEAT springs a surprise
The SEAT Tarraco PHEV provided a surprise in 14th, thanks to 176 registrations. One unit behind, the Audi Q4 e-Tron had a good month in 15th. This was the second and final representative of Volkswagen (VW) Group’s MEB platform in the top 20.
The Ford Kuga PHEV came 18th in April with 159 deliveries. Meanwhile, there were further Volvo-Geely group appearances in the table, as the Polestar 2 secured 19th (153 units) and the Volvo S60 finished in 20th (151 units).
The VW ID.3 narrowly missed out on making the top 20, reaching 141 registrations. The hatchback could return to the best-sellers chart soon.
April saw positive results for the MG4 (127 units) and the BYD Atto 3 (119 units). The Volvo XC90 PHEV was the month’s most popular full-size plug-in model, achieving 115 deliveries.
Also outside the top 20 was the VW Multivan PHEV, posting a record performance of 100 registrations.
Tesla keeps lead
The Tesla Model Y was the Netherlands' most popular EV across the first four months of 2024. Recording 5,174 deliveries, it accounted for 8.5% of the plug-in market.
Almost 1,000 units behind was the Volvo EX/XC40, with 4,177 registrations. Its stablemate, the Volvo EX30, overtook the Tesla Model 3 in April, reaching 3,050 deliveries. The crossover is expected to move into second place soon and could challenge for first place towards the end of the year.
The only other model that could pose a threat to the top three this year is the Kia Niro. It finished in fifth between January and April with 2,294 registrations.
Meanwhile, the Hyundai Kona EV climbed three positions to eighth (1,084 units). Also moving up was the BMW X1 PHEV (788 units), taking 15th. It surpassed its stablemate, the BMW i4 (769 units).
In total, there were 14 BEVs in the year-to-date top 20 at the end of April. This is the same number as one year ago and three more than 24 months ago.
Valiant Volvo performance
Volvo was the Netherlands’s best-selling EV brand across the first four months of 2024, accounting for 15.6% of all deliveries. This was five percentage points (pp) up on its market share during the same period of 2023.
Tesla held a 13.5% market share and also saw a significant gain of 3pp compared to one year ago. Up 2.9pp on the same period last year, Kia (9.1% share) passed BMW (8.8% share) to take third.
Mercedes-Benz finished fifth, accounting for 5.4% of registrations. The manufacturer had no models present in April’s top 20, while the Mercedes-Benz GLC fell out of the year-to-date best-sellers table. Sixth-place Hyundai (4.9% share) could overtake the German carmaker soon.
Grouping brands under their parent companies, Geely-Volvo led the way with a 19.2% market share. Despite Volvo’s recent positive performance helping the OEM, Lynk & Co’s volume struggles balanced out the group's result.
Hyundai Motor Group enjoyed growth in second (14.1% share), thanks to positive performances from both Kia and Hyundai. Tesla took third (13.5%) and sat close behind second place. This contrasts with the same period in 2023 when the Korean OEM held a 3pp advantage over the US brand.
Finally, Stellantis secured fourth (9.8% share), while BMW Group finished fifth (9% share).
