All cars on the roads of Europe: The numbers country by country

How many are there? How old are they? What is the density? Which fuel is used? Here comes the country comparison

By: Fabio Gemelli

Mar 4, 2024 at 5:51am ET

Comment

How many cars are there actually on the roads of Europe? Which countries have the most cars? Which countries have the highest per capita ratio? And have you ever wondered how old these vehicles are and which fuels are used?

To answer these questions, there are now the new figures for 2024 from Acea, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, although they refer to the year 2022 and could satisfy any curiosity. So let's start with the figures ...

How many cars are on the road in Europe?
Car density in a country comparison
How old are the cars on average?
The country with the most cars over ten years old
The most popular fuel types in Europe
- Petrol
- Diesel
- Electric
- Plug-in hybrid
- Mild and full hybrid
- Natural gas
- LPG
- Other fuels

How many cars are on the road in Europe?

Let's start with the countries of the enlarged Europe (EU+EFTA+UK, excluding Bulgaria and Malta), where the most cars are on the road. The ranking starts with a continental figure of 297,170,530 vehicles, up 1% on 2021.

At the top of the list of countries with the most cars is Germany with 48,763,036 units (+0.5 % compared to 2021), ahead of Italy with 40,213,061 cars (+1.0 %) and France with 38,856,492 vehicles (+0.1 %). Also noteworthy is the continued growth of Poland, which overtook Spain in 2022 to take fifth place in the ranking.

Transport in Berlin

At the bottom of the list are smaller or less populous countries such as Cyprus (601,131), Luxembourg (448,454) and Iceland (236,824).

Number of cars on the roads:

Germany - 48,763,036
Italy - 40,213,061
France - 38,856,492
United Kingdom - 37,050,775
Poland - 26,457,659
Spain - 25,644,595
Netherlands - 9,233,107
Czech Republic - 6,425,417
Romania - 7,865,186
Belgium - 5,877,949
Portugal - 5,560,000
Greece - 5,495,927
Austria - 5,150,890
Sweden - 4,980,543
Switzerland - 4,768,843
Hungary - 4,091,975
Norway - 2,876,313
Denmark - 2,794,055
Finland - 2,740,393
Slovakia - 2,721,252
Ireland - 2,292,748
Croatia - 1,836,016
Lithuania - 1,347,548
Slovenia - 1,221,702
Estonia - 849,294
Latvia - 769,345
Cyprus - 601,131
Luxembourg - 448,454
Iceland - 236,824

Car density in a country comparison

Perhaps the most interesting figure, however, is the number of cars per inhabitant, i.e. how many cars there are in the various European countries in relation to the population. The European average in 2022 is 570 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, but there are countries that have many more cars per 1,000 inhabitants.

Tell us what you think!

View

Comments

Cars on Polish roads in Warsaw

Somewhat surprisingly and with a remarkable growth in recent years, Poland leads this ranking with 703 cars per 1,000 inhabitants or 1.42 inhabitants per car, while Luxembourg remains at the top with 695 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (1.43 inhabitants per car). Italy is in third place with 681 (1.46 inhabitants/car).

Number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants:

Poland - 703
Luxembourg - 695
Italy - 681
Cyprus - 664
Estonia - 638
Iceland - 629
Czech Republic - 611
Germany - 586
Slovenia - 580
Austria - 574
EU average - 574
France - 572
Average EU+EFTA+UK - 570
United Kingdom - 549
Switzerland - 546
EFTA average - 542
Spain - 541
Portugal - 537
Norway - 530
Greece - 525
Netherlands - 525
Belgium - 506
Slovakia - 501
Finland - 494
Lithuania - 480
Sweden - 477
Denmark - 476
Croatia - 475
Ireland - 453
Hungary - 422
Romania - 413
Latvia - 410

The countries with the lowest car density include Hungary with 422 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (2.37 inhabitants/car), Romania with 413 cars (2.42 inhabitants/car) and finally Latvia with 410 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (2.44 inhabitants/car).

How old are the cars on average?

If we take a closer look at the Acea data, we find the average age of cars in the different European countries. This particular ranking of markets with the oldest cars is led by Greece with an average age of 17.3 years, followed by Estonia (16.6 years) and the Czech Republic (15.9 years). In contrast, the EU average is 12.3 years.

An old Volkswagen Beetle on a street in Athens

Average age of cars on the roads:

Greece - 17.3 years
Estonia - 16.6 years
Czech Republic - 15.9 years
Latvia - 15.2 years
Poland - 14.9 years
Romania - 14.9 years
Lithuania - 14.7 years
Slovakia - 14.7 years
Hungary - 14.6 years
Spain - 13.9 years
Portugal - 13.6 years
Croatia - 13.3 years
Finland - 12.9 years
Italy - 12.5 years
EU average - 12.3 years
Iceland - 12.0 years
Netherlands - 11.7 years
Slovenia - 11.2 years
France - 10.8 years
Norway - 10.8 years
Sweden - 10.7 years
United Kingdom - 10.3 years
Germany - 10.0 years
Switzerland - 10.0 years
Belgium - 9.8 years
Ireland - 9.1 years
Austria - 8.9 years
Denmark - 8.9 years
Luxembourg - 7.9 years

The newest cars are on the road in Luxembourg, a country with a vehicle fleet with an average age of just 7.9 years. But Denmark and Austria also stand out for the freshness of the cars on their roads - both with 8.9 years.

The country with the most cars over ten years old

Slightly different, but still based on the age of the cars on the road, is the next ranking of countries with the most cars over ten years old in absolute terms. Here Italy wins with almost 24 million cars over ten years old on the road, followed by Germany with almost 22 million and Poland with 21 million.

An old Fiat 500 in Rome

Cars on the road that are over 10 years old:

Italy - 23,819,479
Germany - 21,947,427
Poland - 21,393,509
France - 20,385,505
Spain - 16,237,639
United Kingdom - 15,900,749
Romania - 6,362,815
Netherlands - 4,684,379
Greece - 4,506,033
Czech Republic - 4,291,380
Portugal - 3,472,737
Hungary - 3,026,224
Sweden - 2,305,174
Austria - 2,291,833
Belgium - 2,068,592
Switzerland - 2,031,577
Slovakia - 1,797,147
Finland - 1,573,670
Norway - 1,289,250
Croatia - 1,237,593
Lithuania - 1,031,413
Ireland - 889,793
Denmark - 795,496
Slovenia - 660,662
Estonia - 598,105
Latvia - 594,095
Cyprus - 401,805
Luxembourg - 117,826
Iceland - 85,065

The markets where there are fewer cars older than ten years are Cyprus, Luxembourg and Iceland.

The most popular fuel types in Europe

Another very interesting part of the new Acea report relates to the prevalence of different fuels on the roads of the various European countries. Let's take a look at the individual statistics, starting with the continental figure and then moving on to the market shares by country.

So the first ranking shows that in the enlarged Europe of 29 countries (EU+UK+EFTA), the most popular vehicles on the roads are still petrol cars with 50.6% of the total. Followed by diesel vehicles with 40.8 %. Hybrid drives are in third place, followed by LPG bi-fuel vehicles, while electric cars are only in fifth place with a market share of 1.2 %.

European Union (market share):

Petrol - 50.6 %
Diesel - 40.8 %
Mild and full hybrid - 3.1 %
LPG - 2.6 %
Electric - 1.2 %
Plug-in hybrid - 1.0 %
Natural gas - 0.6 %
Other - 0.1 %
Not identified - 0.1 %

Petrol-powered cars

What is the market with the most petrol cars on the road? According to Acea data, almost 90% of vehicles in Greece have a petrol engine under the bonnet, followed by the Netherlands and Cyprus, with Norway and Lithuania in last place.

An old petrol pump

Petrol (market share):

Greece - 89.6 %
Netherlands - 78.2 %
Cyprus - 74.8 %
Finland - 67.6 %
Switzerland - 63.4 %
Hungary - 63.1
Germany - 62.7
Denmark - 61.7
United Kingdom - 58.1 %
Czech Republic - 57.1
Romania - 54.9
Estonia - 54.4
Belgium - 53.1
Slovakia - 50.0
Sweden - 49.9
Slovenia - 46.2
Iceland - 45.6
Poland - 44.6
Italy - 44.0
Luxembourg - 43.3
Austria - 42.6
France - 40.4
Spain - 39.5
Croatia - 39.0
Portugal - 36.5
Ireland - 36.1
Latvia - 31.3
Norway - 28.7
Lithuania - 24.8

Diesel vehicles

Two Baltic countries share the sceptre of the diesel kings, with Latvia just ahead of Lithuania and Portugal with a 65.8% market share. The Netherlands and Greece, on the other hand, do not seem to like diesel vehicles.

A diesel petrol pump nozzle

Diesel (market share):

Latvia - 65.8 %
Lithuania - 63.5 %
Portugal - 58.8 %
Croatia - 56.0 %
Ireland - 55.8 %
Spain - 55.7
France - 53.0
Austria - 51.5
Slovenia - 50.7
Luxembourg - 45.4
Slovakia - 43.8
Romania - 42.2
Italy - 42.1
Estonia - 41.5
Poland - 39.5
Norway - 38.5
Belgium - 39.3
Czech Republic - 39.3
United Kingdom - 34.7
Sweden - 33.5
Iceland - 33.0
Hungary - 31.6
Germany - 29.6
Switzerland - 28.1
Denmark - 26.6
Finland - 26.3
Cyprus - 21.5
Netherlands - 9.8
Greece - 8.7 %

Electric cars

The only European market in which electric cars have a very high market share is still Norway with 20.8 %, followed by Iceland (7.3 %) and Denmark and Sweden with 4.0 % each. Cyprus and Greece bring up the rear in terms of locally emission-free cars with 0.1% each.

Charging an electric car

Electric cars (market share):

Norway - 20.8 %
Iceland - 7.3 %
Denmark - 4.0 %
Sweden - 4.0 %
Netherlands - 3.7 %
Luxembourg - 3.1
Switzerland - 2.3
Austria - 2.1
Germany - 2.1
United Kingdom - 2.1 %.
Finland - 1.6 %
Ireland - 1.6 %
Belgium - 1.5 %
France - 1.5 %
Portugal - 0.9 %
Hungary - 0.7
Slovenia - 0.6 %
Latvia - 0.5
Lithuania - 0.5
Estonia - 0.4
Italy - 0.4
Spain - 0.4
Croatia - 0.3
Romania - 0.3
Czech Republic
Poland - 0.2
Slovakia - 0.2
Cyprus - 0.1 %
Greece - 0.1 %

Plug-in hybrid

The European leader in plug-in hybrid vehicles is Scandinavia, with Iceland in first place (8.4%), followed by Norway and Sweden. At the bottom of the list are countries such as Austria and Italy, where there are practically no cars on the road.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles

Plug-in hybrids (market share):

Iceland - 8.4 %
Norway - 6.8 %
Sweden - 4.8 %
Denmark - 3.8 %
Finland - 3.8 %
Belgium - 3.0
Luxembourg - 2.7
Netherlands - 2.1
Germany - 1.8
Switzerland - 1.4
Ireland - 1.2
France - 1.1 %
United Kingdom - 1.1 %
Portugal - 1.0
Hungary - 0.6 %
Spain - 0.5
Lithuania - 0.3
Poland - 0.2
Slovakia - 0.2
Slovenia - 0.2
Croatia - 0.1
Greece - 0.1
Latvia - 0.1
Czech Republic - 0.1
Romania - 0.1
Austria - 0.0%.
Cyprus - 0.0%
Estonia - 0.0%
Italy - 0.0%

Mild and full hybrid vehicles

The proportion of mild and full hybrid vehicles in circulation in the various European countries is also rather low, but Luxembourg, Iceland and Norway are at the top of the list. Finland, on the other hand, closes the ranking with 0.0 per cent.

Full hybrid vehicles

Mild and full hybrid vehicles (market share):

Luxembourg - 5.4 per cent
Iceland - 5.1 %
Norway - 5.1 %
Ireland - 5.0
Netherlands - 4.9
Switzerland - 4.6
Lithuania - 4.2
Denmark - 3.9
Italy - 3.9
United Kingdom - 3.8 %
Austria - 3.7 %
Spain - 3.6
Sweden - 3.5
Cyprus - 3.4
Estonia - 3.4
France - 3.3
Hungary - 3.2
Germany - 3.0
Poland - 2.4
Belgium - 2.1
Slovakia - 2.0
Slovenia - 1.7
Portugal - 1.6
Croatia - 1.3
Latvia - 1.3
Greece - 1.2
Romania - 0.8
Czech Republic - 0.1
Finland - 0.0 %

Natural gas cars

Italy is the country with the most natural gas cars on the road (2.4%), followed at some distance by Sweden and Iceland. The most striking figure, however, is that the market share is zero in more than half of the European countries.

Natural gas refuelling

Natural gas (market share):

Italy - 2.4 %
Sweden - 0.8 %
Iceland - 0.7 %
Finland - 0.6 %
France - 0.6 %
Czech Republic - 0.4
Belgium - 0.3
Estonia - 0.3
Germany - 0.2
Switzerland - 0.2
Greece - 0.1
Netherlands - 0.1
Slovakia - 0.1
Spain - 0.1
Austria - 0.0
Croatia - 0.0
Cyprus - 0.0
Denmark - 0.0
Ireland - 0.0
Latvia - 0.0
Lithuania - 0.0
Luxembourg - 0.0
Poland - 0.0 %
Portugal - 0.0
Romania - 0.0
Slovenia - 0.0
Norway - 0.0 %
United Kingdom - 0.0 %
Hungary - 0.0 %

LPG cars

Poland is the LPG king, while Italy and Croatia take second and third place in the rankings. In many countries, however, cars that run on LPG are unknown.

LPG refuelling

LPG (market share):

Poland - 13.1 %
Italy - 7.2 %
Croatia - 3.3 %
Slovakia - 1.9 %
Czech Republic - 1.6 %
Netherlands - 1.1
Germany - 0.7
Hungary - 0.7
Slovenia - 0.5
Romania - 0.4
Belgium - 0.3
Spain - 0.3
Latvia - 0.2
Lithuania - 0.2
Austria - 0.1
Greece - 0.1
Luxembourg - 0.1
Cyprus - 0.0
Denmark - 0.0
Estonia - 0.0
Finland - 0.0 %
France - 0.0
Ireland - 0.0
Portugal - 0.0 %
United Kingdom - 0.0 %
Sweden - 0.0 %
Iceland - 0.0 %
Norway - 0.0 %
Switzerland - 0.0 %

Cars with other fuels

The statistics on "other fuels" include hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, ethanol blends such as E85, biofuels and the still very rare e-fuels. These figures show that Sweden is in first place with a 3.6 per cent market share, which is due to the large number of E85-powered cars on the roads. In other countries, these alternative fuels are practically unknown.