Sales of passenger cars in the Netherlands declined in May 2022, just like in most of the other countries in Europe. However, plug-in electric cars defied the trend, and reported a significant increase in sales in the same month.

As per EV Volumes' data shared by Jose Pontes, the number of new passenger car registrations declined 7 per cent last month year-over-year, while plug-in electric car sales grew nearly 27 per cent year-over-year. Nearly 7,620 new plug-in cars were registered in the month under review.

The market share of plug-in electric cars grew to 32 per cent, which includes 21 per cent share of all-electric cars (BEVs). That is more than one in every five new cars registered in the Netherlands. Year-over-year, sales of BEVs increased 48 per cent. Thus, BEVs emerged as the main force of growth of the plug-in segment.

In brief, the Netherlands saw nearly 5,000 units of BEVs and 2,620 units of PHEVs getting registered in the month under review. While BEVs’ market share grew to 21 per cent, PHEVs accounted for 11 per cent share. The total figure of 7,620 represents 32 per cent of the market.

In the first five months of 2022, more than 37,000 plug-in electric cars got registered in the country, which accounts for 31 per cent of the market.

More precisely, new BEV registrations year-to-date jumped to around 21,990 units, accounting for 18 per cent of the market share. PHEV registrations grew to around 15,880, grabbing 13 per cent share of the market. Total plug-in sales jumped to 37,873 units, accounting for 31 per cent of the Dutch market.

When it comes to models, the three top-selling models last month were the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV, Skoda Enyaq iV and Peugeot e-208. While the Lynk & Co 01 PHEV got 553 units registered in May, the Skoda Enyaq iV and Peugeot e-208 accounted for 523 and 507 registrations, respectively. However, the Skoda Enyaq iV maintained its top position in terms of year-to-date sales.

The Kia Niro EV (e-Niro) grabbed the fourth position with 382 units registered, while the Ford Kuga PHEV, Kia EV6, Audi Q4 e-tron and Volvo XC40 PHEV emerged at the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth positions, with 280 units, 246 units, 242 units and 202 units registered, respectively, in the month under review.

When it comes to the plug-in car brands year-to-date, the top three positions went to Volvo, BMW and Kia, which accounted for 11.4 per cent, 9.1 per cent and 8.8 per cent of the market.