Passenger car fleet in the Netherlands by fuel type 2020-2023

As of 2023, most of the passenger cars that were on the road in the Netherlands were petrol-fueled vehicles. Around 78 percent of the passenger car fleet had a petrol engine, whereas diesel-fueled cars had a share of 9.8 percent. Furthermore, the share of petrol cars in the Netherlands increased overall between 2015 and 2021 but then dropped again in 2022 and 2023. 

Volkswagen is the leading brand in passenger car sales

Volkswagen, a German car manufacturer, was the most selling car brand in the Netherlands in 2023. Approximately 35,000 cars were sold by Volkswagen, whereas the South Korean car manufacturer Kia saw the total sales volume of passenger cars amount to around 33,500. Examining the sales volume of passenger cars by model type, Tesla's Model Y was the leading model in the Netherlands. Despite being among the best-selling brands, none of Volkswagen's model made the top five that year. 

Increase in electric vehicles

Electric passenger cars became more popular between the period of 2013 to 2023. In 2013, there were around 24,500 Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and 4,200 battery-electric vehicles (BEV) to be found in the Netherlands. In 2023, this grew to a total of approximately 262,200 PHEVs and 435,600 BEVs.