The Netherlands has been named as one of the best countries in the world for electric vehicles in a ranking by CompareTheMarket Australia. The ranking found that the Netherlands is the seventh most electric-vehicle-friendly country in the world, while Switzerland was named as the worst. 

The report focused on cost, charging stations and incentives

The ranking focused on a number of metrics to assess the friendliness of countries towards electric vehicles (EVs) and how easy it is to purchase, run and maintain them. The company assessed 29 countries in the report, focusing on the following areas:

• Total charging stations
• Total number of EV sales
• Cost of electricity
• Incentives provided by the government
• Plan to ban the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles (year)

The report found that Norway is the best place in the world for electric vehicle owners, thanks to lower taxes on EVs compared to traditional cars, the rapidly approaching ban on the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles (2025), and the high number of EV sales across the country - with Norwegians buying a whopping 166.000 electric vehicles in 2022.

In contrast, Switzerland was named as the least-friendly country in the world for electric vehicles, with the report criticising the relative lack of charging points, lack of financial incentives for owning an EV, and the lack of a clear date for when the country plans to stop selling new petrol and diesel cars. 

The Netherlands has more EV charging stations than the United States

The Netherlands came in seventh place overall - in part, due to the significant number of electric vehicle charging stations across the country. The Netherlands is home to 124.300 electric vehicle charging points - a respectable number when compared to the United States’ 121.000 charging stations, especially given the fact that the US is 237 times larger than the Netherlands!

Compared to Norway, the Netherlands falls behind on the price of electricity though. In Norway, it costs around 0,11 euro per kilowatt hour (KwH) for electricity, whereas in the Netherlands it is significantly higher, at approximately 0,46 euros per KwH. Norway’s electricity price is lower than many other European countries due to the abundance of hydroelectric power sources. 

Most and least EV-friendly countries around the world ranking 2023

According to the ranking, the most EV-friendly countries in 2023 are:

• 1. Norway
• 2. France
• 3. UK
• 4. Canada
• 5. US
• 6. Japan
• 7. Netherlands
• 8. Spain 
• 9. Sweden
• 10. South Korea

And the least EV-friendly countries in 2023 are:

• 1. Switzerland
• 2. Turkey
• 3. Portugal
• 4. Australia 
• 5. Austria
• 6. Chile
• 7. Mexico
• 8. Ireland
• 9. Greece
• 10. Italy

For more information on how the ranking was compiled, or to see the ranking in full, visit the website of CompareTheMarket Australia.