Electric cars are now becoming more affordable for the average family in the Netherlands, motoring organisation ANWB said on Thursday in a new analysis of the electric car market.

Today, a petrol-driven car costs the equivalent of 56.4 cents per kilometre to buy and run while a comparable electric car would cost 57 cents per kilometre, the ANWB said. The figures are based on driving 15,000 kilometres a year over a four year period.

‘Electric cars are more expensive to buy but you earn that back via lower maintenance, energy costs and taxes,’ said spokesman Marco van Eenennaam. In addition, electric cars are now able to drive further before needing to be charged up – an average of 305 kilometres this year.

Nevertheless, while there is now plenty of mid-range choice, there is still a shortage of cheap, small electric cars and subsidies to help people buy one are used up very quickly, Van Eenennaam said. ‘There should be more money for subsidies. People are still being put off by the price.’

The average cost of an electric car in the Netherlands is currently around €36,000 and most of the 145,000 electric vehicles on the Dutch roads are company cars.

The government plans to ban the sale of new cars which run on fossil fuels from 2030. In order to achieve this, the government needs to keep subsidising new car sales, ensure cheaper models come on the market and encourage the development of a second hand market, the ANWB said.

ANWB researchers did find that 26% of the Dutch are considering buying an electric car within the next five years.