17 December 2025
Electric vehicles provide significant benefits for climate and air quality but also lead to increased car usage. Especially on weekends and among urban residents, the number of kilometers driven increases. This is shown by new research from the Central Planning Bureau (CPB) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) on the effects of switching to electric driving on travel behavior in the Netherlands.
More Car Kilometers
Households drive more car kilometers after switching to an electric car, probably because electric cars are cheaper to operate than fuel cars and due to the perception that their car trips are less harmful to the environment. The growth mainly takes place outside commuting hours and peak times and mainly concerns longer trips rather than more short trips. This seems to limit the impact on traffic volume during regular rush hours. The research does not show that electric cars displace trips by bike or on foot.
Social Costs Remain
Electric driving reduces CO₂ and air pollutant emissions but maintains other social costs of car use. Electric cars contribute, like fuel cars, to traffic jams, accidents, and road maintenance costs. These effects mainly depend on how much, where, and when driving occurs. To reduce the social costs of car driving, pricing incentives that consider time and place and investments in cycling and public transport infrastructure are promising policy options.
ESB
In addition to this publication, an article at ESB has been published.
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