Since last year, the number of company cars in Belgium with a diesel engine has dropped by 10%, whilst a sharp decrease of 40% has been recorded in the last six years.
This downward trend reflects the fact that the implementation of a law that will result in company cars becoming subject to stricter environmental regulations is nearing.
"The share of diesel cars will continue to decline, as will that of petrol cars because by 2026 the new legislation on the deductibility of company cars will impose zero emissions as a requirement for the cars to be 100% tax-deductible," according to Wim Demey, Customer Intelligence Manager at Partena Professional.
"This will encourage many employers to opt exclusively for the most ecological cars," he added.
A recent study found that 23% of employees in Belgium have a company car to travel to work - according to Partena Professional, there are just under one million company cars in Belgium - whilst 51% make the commute in their own vehicle.
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This year, slightly more than one out of two company cars (54.41%) in Belgium was equipped with a diesel engine, coming down from 95% in 2015.
At the same time, the share of so-called "ecological" cars (electric, hybrid/petrol and hybrid/diesel) in the company car fleet has almost doubled from 9.25% to 16.07%, a trend which is continuing, according to the latest figures.
Specifically, hybrid/petrol cars have risen most in popularity, and are now 20 times more represented than in 2015.
"Employers' demand for hybrid cars is rising faster than that for 100% electric cars, although this is also increasing significantly," Demey said.
As a result of rules regarding the climate-friendliness of a car changing, 12% of SMEs said they will offer smaller cars, however, less than 4% said that they will end the provision of company cars by 2025 completely. Likewise, it is a minority that intends to promote company bicycles and public transport.
According to Demey, the interest in company cars overall has decreased. "We recorded 16% fewer new registrations in 2020 than in 2019. This decline will undoubtedly continue in 2021 as the coronavirus crisis has put a lot at risk for businesses," he said.
