Something odd is happening on Belgian tarmac: while the rest of us still argue between a diesel that coughs like a 40-a-day smoker and a petrol guzzler thirstier than a camel on absinthe, half the country’s electric cars have already signed a lease. Fifty-one percent of the 196 000 pure-electric machines registered here are owned by rental or leasing outfits. The EV revolution didn’t knock; it arrived with a tidy contract and a monthly invoice.
Let the numbers do the talking; they sprint faster than a Tesla on Ludicrous. The Belgian vehicle-rental federation, which speaks for 90 % of the trade, runs a fleet of 636 000 cars. One in three is now battery-only, and among long-term leases the figure hits 73 % zero-emission. Diesel? Down to 15 %. Plug-in hybrids? Limping along at 23 %. Electric isn’t a trade-fair toy any more; it’s the engine dragging the whole convoy forward.
Why the leasing frenzy? Because the taxman is playing Santa. Companies reclaim VAT, the government hands out sweeteners sweeter than free city-centre parking, and the average contract now stretches 51 months—nine months longer than five years ago. Battery warranties last longer, residual values behave, and the maths works. Result: fleets go green without bosses selling a kidney. In Flanders, where 78 % of new EVs land, the effect is turbo-charged; Brussels and Wallonia tag along, slightly out of breath.
Not everything is plug-and-play, though. These leased EVs clog the roads today, then tumble onto a second-hand market wobblier than a drunk cyclist after the Tour of Flanders. Values drop faster than petrol prices after an oil crash, and Flanders’ new registration and circulation taxes throw gravel in the gears. Short-term rental has shrunk nearly 20 %, so weekend test-drives are rarer than smooth traffic on a Monday morning. Still, I see a launch pad, not a crisis. Leasing is the starter course: taste the silence, feel the instant shove, fill up at a socket instead of a pump. With the EV population up 83 % in a single year to 384 000 cars, the tide is unstoppable. This isn’t fashion; it’s the future already parked on your drive.
Drive one. Electric isn’t just clever; it’s addictive. Torque that punches you in the back, lungs on holiday, and fuel money you can spend on proper coffee instead of forecourt swill. Belgium, land of compromise, has finally floored it. The leasing firms are the scouts; private buyers will follow. Why cling to an engine that growls like an angry neighbour when you can glide on electrons?
Ready for your own electric adventure? Dive into our marketplace and browse 100 % electric cars ready to buy. See the full line-up at https://volty.be/nl/buy/cars/overview/.
