What is happening in the Netherlands is illustrative of what is going to happen in the surrounding countries. The key to understanding this is a European phenomenon (tax loophole) — company cars for private use.

Just over a year ago, electric vehicles were as popular in the Netherlands as they were in many other countries (not popular). They accounted for approximately 2% to 4% of the market. Then came an incentive change — putting an end to the “Tesla subsidy.” The country ended incentives for the portion of the car price above €50,000.

This created a rush on the Tesla Model S, Model X, and the new kid on the block, the Jaguar I-Pace, resulting in the I-Pace becoming the best-selling model of all car types in December 2018. Fully battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached 30% market share in the same month, pushing the whole market for BEVs to over 5% in 2018.

Last year’s surprise performance of the Jaguar I-Pace was […]