The small electric commercial vehicle has started catching up

Nine in ten commercial vehicles that were sold in our country via the large specialist in vehicle leasing and mobility solutions Arval in 2024 came with a plug. After the top and mid-range segments opted for battery cars, the BEV has also broken through among the smallest categories of commercial vehicles in the past six months. “The overall cost of a purely electric car, in the lowest segments, is now often lower than the petrol variant which has, until recently, for both financial and operational reasons, been the most popular option”, says Yves Ceurstemont of the Arval Mobility Observatory Belgium.

Just one in ten of the vehicles ordered in the commercial world in the past year did not come with a plug. Eight out of ten vehicles ordered are now entirely electric. Vehicles with both a plug and a combustion engine (plug-in hybrids) accounted for 10% of the orders, according to the latest data from mobility solutions company Arval.

“The fiscal framework which, over the coming years, will make combustion engine vehicles less favourable than BEVs in tax-terms, has been one of the major drivers within the commercial vehicle market in the past few years. Companies are only allowing drivers to opt for a vehicle that is not fully electric in exceptional circumstances.”

- Yves Ceurstemont, Arval Mobility Observatory Belgium

Neck to neck in the top 4

Four vehicles battled it out at the top of the Arval order list in 2024. The BMW iX1 ended up at the top of the rankings, followed closely by the Volvo EX30, the Tesla Model Y and the Mercedes EQB.

“The most popular vehicles are mainly SUVs from the mid-segment and then two sedans, the BMW i4 and the Tesla Model 3. The main reason for this lies with the manufacturers who have followed the global enthusiasm for SUVs and have, in turn, focused on this type of vehicle over the past few years.”

- Yves Ceurstemont, Arval Mobility Observatory Belgium

Finally, more small BEVs

A notable trend, which is also reflected in the high ranking of the Volvo EX30, is the breakthrough of the BEV in the lower segments of the commercial vehicle market.

“Over the past year, electrification has really broken through in this segment because smaller models, including the EX30, have finally been introduced to the market. Particularly over the last six months, we have seen increased orders of BEVs in this lower segment, with models such as the KIA EV3, the Mini Aceman and the Peugeot 2008 gaining in popularity. These vehicles are gaining ground over their rivals with a petrol engine with respect to TCO, the overall cost including maintenance, other services and taxes. This used to be the other way around. The Volkswagen Polo is the only petrol vehicle that is still taking on the competition in terms of popularity, but VW has the electric iD.2 in the pipeline. The recent Renault 5, car of the year and also a BEV, falls into the same segment and is already drawing attention from the fleet world. 2025 promises to be an interesting year for the smaller BEVs, where the race to catch up has really begun.”

- Yves Ceurstemont, Arval Mobility Observatory Belgium