In contrast, Spain's electric company car uptake is only 3.7%, largely due to minimal incentives for EVs.

The study also highlights a significant decline in electric vehicle sales across Europe, with fully electric car sales dropping 43.9% in August, particularly in major markets like Germany and France.

Currently, financial incentives for transitioning to electric vehicles are only available in the UK, highlighting a disparity in support for EV adoption across Europe.

Transport & Environment (T&E) has urged the European Commission to implement a Greening Corporate Fleets Regulation by 2025, establishing binding electrification targets for large corporate fleets.

Stef Cornelis, T&E's director of fleets, criticized the current subsidies as illogical and contradictory to the EU's environmental goals, calling for immediate action to phase out benefits for polluting vehicles.

A recent study reveals that the European Union spends a staggering 42 billion euros annually subsidizing fossil fuel company cars, undermining its green transition agenda.

Italy, Germany, France, and Poland are the largest contributors to these subsidies, with Italy leading at 16 billion euros, followed by Germany at 13.7 billion euros, and France and Poland each providing over 6 billion euros.

These subsidies disproportionately benefit SUVs, with company car drivers enjoying an average annual tax advantage of 6,800 euros, which can rise to 21,600 euros for larger, high-polluting models.

Key tax benefits for company cars include benefit-in-kind schemes, depreciation write-offs, VAT deductions, and fuel cards, which are not available to private car owners.

In the UK, high taxes on petrol and diesel company cars, coupled with lower taxes for electric vehicle drivers, have resulted in a 21.5% uptake of electric company cars.

In response to these challenges, EU leaders, including Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, have called for the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.

President Ursula von der Leyen has emphasized the need for a plan to phase out these subsidies, tasking Hoekstra with proposing measures to make corporate fleets greener.