This report discusses the size and characteristics of, and developments in, business car ownership and use in the Netherlands. It is an update of similar studies, carried out in 1995 and 1998. The majority of company car drivers are male, 40.3 years old (on average), part of a multi-person household, with a relatively high income. The number of female company car drivers has, however, increased by 21% over the last years. In 2001, there were 6.7 million passenger cars in the Netherlands, a million more than in 1996. 1.1-1.2 million (about 17%) of these can be referred to as business cars, of which 12% are company cars, and 5% are private cars, used for business purposes for at least 50% of the kilometres driven. The fleet of company cars has increased in number as well as in use (share of car kilometres). In 2001, company cars were responsible for 22% of all car use. This is because company car drivers travel more than average: annually, they drive 31,348 km, compared to 16,435 km for private car drivers. The number of car kilometres for company car drivers has decreased slightly over the past years; for private car drivers, the number is stable. But because the number of cars has increased strongly, car mobility has still increased over the past years, for both company cars and private cars. In total, passenger car mobility increased by 11%; for company cars the increase was 16%. The company car differs from the average Dutch passenger car in a number of ways: the company car is a relatively new car (and, because of that, relatively heavy, but also relatively environmentally friendly). This is especially true for lease cars: 68% was delivered in 2000 or 2001, and cars older than four years can hardly be found among them. Company cars administered and financed by the companies themselves are somewhat older: over a quarter of these are older than four years; the company car uses, much more often than private cars, diesel or LPG as fuel. The share of diesel has risen substantially since 1996; a large part of the company cars belongs to the mid-class segment, especially if it is a lease car. the segments mid-class small and mid-class large make up about 60% of all company cars. For private part, the share of these segments is 53%. The share of some market segments has changed markedly over the last few years. In 1995 and 1998 MPV's did not yet constitute a separate category; in 2002, however, MPV's have a share of over 10% among company cars. The shares of the market segments large and large & exclsusive have decreased over the past years, as has the share of the segment mid-class, small. Because there are more company cars, and because congestion has increased in the past years, it can be concluded that the (economic) impact of congestion on company car drivers has increased. The number of fines for traffic offenders has almost doubled from 1997 to 2001, due to increased enforcement. The number of fines for speed offences per kilometre travelled is higher for legal persons (as an approximation for company car drivers) than for natural persons (as an approximation for private car drivers), in 1997 as well as in 2001. The average fine in 2001 was EUR 41.06, with very little difference between legal and natural persons, indicating that there is very little difference in the seriousness of the offence. The risk of being involved in an accident turned out to be the same for lease car drivers and non lease car drivers. Young lease car drivers (18-24 years old), however, showed higher risks of being involved in accidents. (A)
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