The figures don’t lie: the share of purely electric cars on our roads is increasing noticeably. For example, 16.5 percent of cars registered in Belgium in the first half of this year were EVs, while last year that was around 10 percent and the year before even less than 6 percent. However, if you dig a little deeper into those figures, you will notice that more than 90 percent of those electric cars are intended for professionals. While companies are lured to the plug by tax benefits, the purchase price often remains absurdly high for the proverbial John with the hat… And the Flemish Government wants to do something about that.
For EVs up to 40,000 euros
During the September declaration, Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon proposed a premium system for the purchase of electric cars. In addition, anyone who purchases a new EV in 2024 will be entitled to 5,000 euros in government support. Second-hand cars are also not forgotten, because there is a premium of 3,000 euros for cars registered in 2024. After that, the premium will decrease every year by 1,000 euros for new EVs and by 500 euros for used EVs, so that the government will provide 4,000 euros and 2,500 euros respectively in 2025 and 3,000 euros and 2,000 euros in 2026. To avoid fraud, the purchased car must remain in the buyer’s possession for at least three years, and that is not the only condition.
The premium only applies to electric cars with a list price of up to 40,000 euros including VAT. The Flemish Government is introducing this ceiling to ensure that the money mainly reaches the citizens who need it, but that of course puts the majority of electric cars out of the game. In other words, you do not have to count on state support to purchase the Tesla of your dreams, and the Hyundai Kona Electric, Volkswagen ID.3 or Renault Mégane E-Tech, among others, are also excluded. Compact models such as the Jeep Avenger, Peugeot E-208 or Opel Mokka Electric are eligible and the same applies, for example, to a number of MG models, but in any case you will have to pay attention to which version or options you order to keep the total price below to keep the 40,000 euros. We do not yet know how the procedure will actually work.
