The number of new diesel cars in Brussels has dropped in the last decade in favour of low-emission options, according to the Brussels Institute of Statistics and Analysis (IBSA). Company cars and tax incentives are the main driving forces of the transition.
In 2014, 80,000 new cars were registered in the Brussels-Capital Region. However, just ten years later, the number has dropped significantly to 56,500 vehicles. "Increase in car prices and changes in the regulatory context (such as Low Emission Zones) are likely deterring private buyers from purchasing new cars," explained the IBSA's head of communication, Line Jussiant.
In addition to the decline in vehicle registrations, the last ten years also saw a notable demise in the popularity of new diesel cars in the region. While diesel vehicles made up 78% of new cars registered in the Brussels region in 2014, this share dropped to 5% last year.
Contrastingly, a third of new vehicles in Brussels were fully electric in 2024, while about 38% of new cars were hybrids (petrol-electric or diesel-electric cars).
"The recent changes in Belgian tax regulation are increasingly favourable to electric and hybrid vehicles, particularly for company vehicles," Jussiant told The Brussels Times.
Last year, 70% of the new hybrid and electric cars registered in Belgium were company cars, according to Belgian statistical office Statbel. In 2024, 110,583 new electric vehicles and 100,944 hybrid vehicles were registered by companies.
Moreover, the push for the Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in Brussels is also "a sign for change towards less diesel," Jussiant noted.
The significant growth in the proportion of zero or low-emission vehicles has been observed since 2020, according to IBSA.
In 2024, 66% of new cars sold in Belgium were electric or hybrids, according to the Belgian statistical agency Statbel. In 2019, these vehicles represented just 8% of all car sales in the country. "Faced with hybrid and electric cars, petrol and diesel cars continue to lose ground," Statbel highlighted in a press release last week.
