The sale of new passenger cars has been hit hard by the corona crisis. More than 248,000 cars were sold in the first nine months of this year. This meant a decrease of a quarter on an annual basis, according to industry organizations Bovag and Rai Vereniging. Sales of light commercial vehicles fell by an almost equal percentage.
For the whole year, the trade associations are assuming 350,000 new passenger cars sold. This was previously 425,000. Up to and including August, the counter for company cars stands at 40,000. It is expected to be 58,000 this year.
The sales performance is highly dependent on the developments surrounding the corona virus, according to Bovag and Rai Vereniging. In the last months of the year, the organizations expect a further run on electric vehicles due to new addition percentages from 1 January. Next year, business drivers will have a 12 percent tax addition for the unlimited private use of fully electric cars. This percentage applies to the first € 40,000 of the consumer price. This year that is still 8 percent up to and including € 45,000. Furthermore, the purchase tax bpm will increase again on 1 January for many passenger cars that run on diesel and petrol.
Bovag and Rai Vereniging expect that 400,000 new passenger cars will be sold next year. In addition, an owner will be found for 64,000 new company cars. One fifth of the new cars sold next year are expected to be electric. For the first three quarters of this year, that percentage is 12 percent, compared to 14 percent last year.