Alternative to car ownership

Is there an alternative to (expensive) car ownership?

Troubling figures came out recently. Car sales in the Netherlands are falling significantly. The reason seems to be that car ownership is becoming increasingly expensive. This has been worrying business drivers, in particular. Time to look for alternatives?

Remarkable figures came out in early August. As it turns out, 33,810 new passenger cars were registered in the Netherlands last July. That is a 6.4 percent decrease from the same month the year before, or 2,300 cars.

Unwanted tax effects

The decline is even greater when looking at a longer period. In the first seven months of 2019, 259,662 cars were registered; that is a whopping 10.2 percent less than the same period a year earlier.

According to BOVAG, these decreases are caused by unwanted tax effects due to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). This is a new test for measuring a car's exhaust emissions. The problem is that WLTP results in higher theoretical CO2 values, while passenger car and motorcycle tax (BPM) rates are not adjusted accordingly. This tax partly determines the purchase price of a new passenger car. Thus, since WLTP was introduced in September 2018, many passenger cars have become significantly more expensive.

Now what?

Of course, there are various alternatives to car ownership. In practice, however, these are not always practical. Biking to work is not an appropriate solution for many jobs and distances. In turn, public transit is characterized by relative unreliability. Moreover, by no means are all destinations accessible by train or bus.

For the business driver, only one serious option really remains: renting a car. This is a cost-effective and flexible way to use a car for business travel. You can also always pick out the latest car models in terms of innovation and sustainability. This makes more fuel-efficient and environmentally conscious driving more attainable.

Complicated scheduling is also unnecessary. For example, if you call Avis now, we guarantee that a car will be at your door within four hours. Plus, you can have it picked up or return it whenever you want, at any of the 38 Avis locations most convenient for you.

What about car insurance?

A big advantage of renting with Avis: all rental cars in Avis' fleet come with third-party insurance as standard. Within this public liability insurance, all damages caused to third parties with the rented car are covered. The premium for this third-party insurance is included as standard in our rental rates.