93.6% increase in electric cars in 2023

On 1 August 2023, there were 6,030,700 passenger cars in Belgium, compared to 5,927,912 a year earlier. This is a 1.4% increase. The number of cars has increased by 0.94% per year on average over the last ten years. This is what emerged from the new figures of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.

Fully electric cars have almost doubled in one year, with a 93.6% increase. There were 71,651 electric cars in 2022 ; there are 138,749 of them in 2023.

It is important to note that 80.8% of these electric cars are registered by enterprises. Even though electric cars are becoming increasingly popular in Belgium, only 26,440 cars (19.1%) are owned by individuals and 112,056 by enterprises.

Hybrid cars currently account for 8.9% of the vehicle fleet and have greatly passed the 530,000 car mark: 537,817 hybrid cars compared to only 375,107 in 2022 (+43.4%). Here too, company cars represent the majority, but to a lesser extent than fully electric cars. 313,723 hybrid cars are registered by enterprises (58.3%), while 222,065 are owned by individuals (41.3%).

The number of gas cars has increased by 14.8% in 2023 to 20,373.

https://e.infogram.com/32eea7c7-4ffb-4bf1-82da-a467c94b1587?parent_url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatbel.fgov.be%2Fen%2Fthemes%2Fmobility%2Ftraffic%2Fvehicle-stock&src=embed#async_embed

Number of passenger cars per motor fuel and type of owner in 2023

2023	Type of owner			Total
	Enterprise	Private	Unknown
Petrol	334,574	2,687,848	73,831	3,096,253
Diesel	444,787	1,746,059	10,703	2,201,549
Petrol/diesel + Electric	313,723	222,065	2,029	537,817
Electric	112,056	26,440	253	138,749
Gas	913	19,001	459	20,373
Other	7,578	9,748	18,633	35,959
Total	1,213,631	4,711,161	105,908	6,030,700

Since 2015, the number of diesel passenger cars has been decreasing a little faster every year. In 2023, there were 9.2 % fewer diesel cars than a year earlier. So, on 1 August, there were 2,201,549 diesel cars. Simultaneously and just like in 2022, the number of petrol cars continues to increase (+2.5% in 2023) and stands at 3,096,253 units. Petrol cars now account for 51.34% of the passenger car fleet, against 36.51% for diesel.

Besides passenger cars, Belgium has 16,449 buses and coaches, 973,447 commercial vehicles for the transport of goods, 56,222 tractors, 206,405 agricultural tractors and 85,625 special motor vehicles. Furthermore, 541,665 motorcycles are registered in Belgium, bringing the total of the vehicle fleet to 7,910,513 units.

Evolution of the vehicle fleet 2021-2023

On 1 August	2021	2022	2023	2022/2021	2023/2022
Vehicle fleet on 1 August (including motorcycles)	7,751,422	7,796,877	7,910,513	+0.6%	+1.5%
Passenger cars	5,927,912	5,947,479	6,030,700	+0.3%	+1.4%
- petrol	2,951,770	3,021,102	3,096,253	+2.3%	+2.5%
- diesel	2,623,556	2,424,932	2,201,549	-7.6%	-9.2%
- gas	15,999	17,740	20,373	+10.9%	+14.8%
- electricity	40,851	71,651	138,749	+75.4%	+93.6%
- hybrid	258,916	375,107	537,817	+44.9%	+43.4%
- not mentioned	36,820	36,947	35,959	+0.3%	-2.7%
Buses and coaches	16,628	16,557	16,449	-0.4%	-0.7%
Motor vehicles for the transport of goods (a)	946,427	958,553	973,447	+1.3%	+1.6%
Tractors (b)	53,899	55,075	56,222	+2.2%	+2.1%
Agricultural tractors	200,332	203,472	206,405	+1.6%	+1.4%
Special motor vehicles (d)	80,876	82,634	85,625	+2.2%	+3.6%
Motorcycles (c)	525,348	533,107	541,665	+1.5%	+1.6%
Inhabitants per passenger car on 1 August	1.9	2.0	1.9	+0.5%	-0.5%
(a) Lorries, delivery , vans, cross-country vehicles and tank vehicles. (b) Road tractors are commercial motor vehicules to which semi-trailers (vehicule without front axle) are hitched. (c) All motorcycles doing more than 40 km/h, i.e. all motorcycles and most mopeds (d) The special vehicles are slow vehicles the dimensions or weight of which exceed the normally allowed maximum values

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