Filenews 22 September 2021
With 645 cars per thousand inhabitants, Cyprus ranks 3rd in the EU with the most passenger cars in terms of population, according to data from eurostat. Luxembourg has held the reins for 30 years with 681 cars, followed by Italy in 2nd place with 663 vehicles per thousand inhabitants.
The data relate to 2019 and according to these lowest motor vehicle rates are recorded in Romania with 357 cars per thousand inhabitants. They are followed by Latvia with 381 cars and Hungary with 390 cars.
The largest number of passenger cars was recorded in Germany with almost 48 million cars, followed by Italy with 40 million cars and France with 32 million vehicles.
Between 2015 and 2019 the largest increase in the number of passenger cars was recorded in Romania (+34%) followed by Lithuania (+20%), Hungary (+19%), Slovakia and Poland (both+18%). The only EU Member State that recorded a decrease in the number of passenger cars in the period under review was Bulgaria (-11%).
Most old and new cars
It is worth noting that several EU member states reported a large number of "old" passenger cars, i.e. 20 years old or older. The highest proportions of the old passenger fleet were recorded in Poland (37.9%) followed by Estonia (31.5%), Finland (26.9%) and Lithuania (22.6%).
By contrast, most new cars, i.e. under 2 years of age, were recorded in Ireland (28.8%), Luxembourg (23.7%), Belgium (22.9%) and Denmark (22.6%).
It is noted that in recent years many countries have been offering programs that support the purchase of new cars with low emissions, while at the same time they provide for the withdrawal of old cars. The overall objective of these programmes is to renew the fleet of passenger cars with lower-emission cars, while stimulating the economy.
