Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric vehicle maker Nio sold 13 vehicles in the Netherlands in March, according to official data released Tuesday, as the company welcomes a new market chief and prepares the launch of sub-brands in Europe.
The March figure brought Nio’s first-quarter sales in the country to 39 units, down from 51 vehicles in the same period a year earlier. The Shanghai-based company has registered a total of 233 vehicles in the Netherlands so far in 2024.
Midway through the month, Nio announced that Ruben Keuter, head of the Dutch market, would leave by March 31. Tristan Hamelink, formerly head of sales and operations, has taken over the role. Later that day, Keuter said he would be joining South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. effective April 1.
In March, the company also made permanent a discounted pricing scheme for battery swapping and charging services that was initially introduced as a temporary measure in January. Customers can continue to charge or swap batteries near Nio Power Swap stations at €0.29 ($0.31) per kilowatt-hour — a 34% cut from the standard €0.44 rate.
Kia led the Dutch overall vehicle market in March with 2,859 registrations (of which 1,137 EVs) but Tesla was the best selling among fully electric cars with 792 Model 3 and 734 Model Y units.
Battery-electric vehicles made up 35.5% of all new car sales in the Netherlands in March, while hybrids accounted for nearly half. Across the first quarter, 32,439 EVs were registered, a 7.9% increase year-on-year, representing a 35.3% market share. Hybrids held a 46.8% share with 42,931 registrations, while petrol-powered vehicles continued to lose ground, dropping to 16.5% of the market, or 15,157 units.
“Despite positive figures for electric vehicles, EV adoption is also being held back by the overall decline in the car market. This is happening at a time when further acceleration is crucial,” said Huub Dubbelman, chairman of the Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles section of the RAI Association.
“Driving electric is still far from the norm; only a small portion of the vehicle fleet is fully emission-free,” he said. “If tax incentives are scaled back further after 2026, we risk losing momentum in sustainability. The government must therefore continue to invest in promoting electric driving.”
