Occasions are extremely popular for several reasons. As a result, the Dutch vehicle fleet is not getting younger any time soon. A thorn in the side of some, but how realistic is it that we will soon have streets full of young cars?
In the past year, second-hand cars were again traded en masse. More than two million, only a fraction less than in the record year 2020. The chip shortage and the desire for a personal means of transport, which has grown due to corona, obviously play an important role in the popularity of used cars, but don’t forget your wallet either. A used car is simply cheaper than a new car, you don’t go for the bpm ax and you have to deal with less depreciation. All in all, it contributes to the fact that the average age of Dutch cars is now 11 years old.
This is of course ‘not desirable’ on the way to a cleaner fleet, because old cars are usually more polluting than new ones. All those old bricks are a thorn in the side for policymakers who have to achieve climate goals. New (preferably electric) cars are the solution to reduce emissions, which is why incentives such as the SEPP subsidy are being pulled out of the closet to get the Netherlands to use the EV more quickly. Even despite that compensation, you still have to use a considerable amount of money to put a new EV in front of your door. Then you do not pay mrb and you ‘tank’ cheaper, but then you have to be able to make that investment first.
That’s where we’ve got the biggest problem: conjure up $30,000 or $40,000. That is simply not possible for many people. That little subsidy doesn’t change anything for them. Buying a new car, whether it’s an EV or not, is an ‘expensive hobby’. Private lease may then still be an option, but then you will soon have a fairly solid monthly amount that you will not see again at the end of the lease period and you will get a BKR registration. Good luck buying a house. So not ideal either. And even if you manage to financially just manage to buy a new car, you still have the depreciation. In five years’ time you may not just repeat the shopping sleight of hand and then you will again be driving what some consider an ‘old car’.
When I look in my personal environment, I see heaps of cars that were bought second-hand for at most €7,000, or far below. Do these people earn badly? Certainly not. At least modal. They live well and have enough money to live a nice life. The most expensive private car in my circle of knowledge has cost roughly €12,000. There is a few with a car that is as good as new, but it belongs to the boss and is only driven for business. The private car is at least ten years old. Here in the village – far outside the Randstad – you do have streets where the oldest car you see is about three years old, but we are also talking about a neighborhood where a house costs at least 7 tons.
Before you misunderstand me and think I’m here pissing at ‘rich stinkers’: that’s definitely not my approach. I simply state that in my view it is not realistic in the current situation to expect that we will soon be driving a lot younger. Simply because an older second-hand car is the only solid option for most people.
The ‘solution’ proposed by an ING economist to make people with an old car pay more with a ‘special form of road pricing’ is, in my opinion, the world upside down. What if someone simply can’t afford to drive newer? The stupidest thing you can do then is to further undermine purchasing power by squeezing someone further financially. Then the newer car will have to wait even longer. ‘Yes, but then such a person is stimulated to buy something new’. That is possible, but then you have to be very careful about where you place that limit. If you will soon be above average with a five-year-old car, you will be pushed into a corner in no time where you simply cannot shop because your wallet does not allow it. And what’s more: how ‘sustainable’ are you really doing if you start driving something new every once in a while?
I am absolutely in favor of the Dutch vehicle fleet becoming younger, but this requires an approach that shows a realistic picture of the financial resources that the Dutch have for driving. Higher taxes are not always the answer when purchasing power is the root of the problem.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl