Higher Revenues in the Car and Motorcycle Industry in the Second Quarter
In the second quarter of 2026, the revenue in the car and motorcycle industry was 13.9 percent higher than in the same period in 2025. Almost all types of companies in this industry earned more money, except the companies that sell car parts. The trade and repair of passenger cars grew the most.
This was because more passenger cars were sold. This appears from new figures from the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS). The largest group of companies in this sector, trade and repair of passenger cars, had 19.2 percent more revenue than a year ago.
This growth is probably due to a strong automotive market and the fact that there are more cars in the Netherlands. The sale of car parts, however, decreased by 1.4 percent. This may be because trade routes are affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
For example, the international chains that supply parts are sometimes disrupted. People are also buying fewer parts. For example, because electric cars do not have an internal combustion engine or gearbox and therefore require less maintenance.
In the second quarter of 2026, 4.9 percent more passenger cars and light vans were sold than last year. The number of petrol cars sold dropped significantly, while the sale of diesel cars decreased slightly. The increase is mainly due to electric cars.
The sale of electric cars rose by 24.4 percent. Also, 4.1 percent more hybrid cars were sold. For trucks, almost twice as many new vehicles were sold as last year (plus 97.5 percent).
The increase was also large for electric trucks (plus 95.6 percent). In total, 56.2 percent more heavy commercial vehicles were sold than last year. Yet the confidence of entrepreneurs has decreased.
At the beginning of the third quarter, entrepreneurial confidence was minus 8.0, while it was minus 5.2 one quarter earlier. At the start of 2026, it was still positive, at 5.8. Since the end of 2021, confidence has mostly been low.
The number of open vacancies in the car and motorcycle industry is growing. In the second quarter of 2026, there were 7,700 vacancies, which is 10 percent more than the previous quarter. This is a larger increase than in other sectors.
There, the number of vacancies increased by 1.9 percent.