Passenger cars in the EU

Data extracted in July 2026

Planned article update: 22 January 2027

Highlights

Between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025, the number of registered battery-only electric passenger cars increased by 31.5% and amounted to almost 7.6 million vehicles at EU level.

The highest share of hybrid and battery-only electric cars together (= "electrified cars") in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg (24%), followed by Denmark (22%), and Belgium and Sweden (both 20%).

The share of heavy cars (unladen weight greater than or equal to 1 500 kg) is continuously increasing, due to more safety equipment, the popularity of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), and the weight of batteries.

In 2025, Luxembourg featured the highest share of youngest passenger cars, with 19.8% of cars being less than 2 years old.

This article describes the development in passenger car stocks and new registrations in the European Union (EU), providing also more detailed information on passenger cars powered by alternative fuels.

The fleet of battery-only electric vehicles is continuously increasing; overall, alternative fuels still represent a low proportion

Overall, the passenger car fleet in almost all EU countries has increased over the last 5 years, exceeding an EU total of 260 million cars (Table 2). The highest number of cars per 1 000 inhabitants was recorded in Italy (709), followed by Cyprus and Luxembourg (Figure 3). In 2025, Luxembourg had the highest share of young vehicles (19.8%), while Romania reported the highest share of passenger cars over 20 years old (39.1%), followed by Finland and Poland (Figure 6).

Passenger cars powered by alternative fuels represent 20.5% of new registrations of passenger cars in the EU in 2025 (Table 1), still considerably behind petrol-powered cars (65.7%). The share of cars powered by alternative fuels among newly registered passenger cars is below 20% in 16 EU countries (Figure 2).

Nevertheless, in 2025, the number of battery-only electric passenger cars across the EU amounted to almost 7.6 million (Figure 1), which was about 151 times higher than in 2013 and around 7 times higher than in 2020. The largest annual increases were noted between 2019 and 2020 (+85.3%) and between 2020 and 2021 (+77.5%). Since 2013, their share in the total number of passenger cars increased from 0.02% to 2.9%.

Engines of newly registered passenger cars: battery-only electric bouncing back (+30%), as well as plug-in hybrids (+34%), with pure diesel falling (-22%)

Consumer preferences on whether a new passenger car should be powered by a petrol, diesel, or an alternative fuel vary across the EU countries (Table 1) and are notably influenced by national incentives and taxation rules.

Among the 27 EU countries, alternative energy cars formed the largest category only in Denmark (67.8%). Petrol (including hybrids) is the major primary source of motor energy everywhere else. In 15 EU countries, the number of newly registered alternative energy cars exceeded that of diesel-powered cars, including hybrids (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Finland, and Sweden).

In 2025, the highest shares of newly-registered petrol-powered cars (including hybrids) were noted in Greece (85.6%), Bulgaria (84.4%), Cyprus (84.2%), Estonia (80.1%), Croatia (78.0%), Latvia (77.1%), and Lithuania (76.8%). All other EU countries recorded shares at or above 55%, except for Denmark (26.4%).

In the EFTA countries, alternative energy cars formed the largest category only in Norway (95.1%), with petrol being dominant everywhere else.

Among the candidate countries and potential candidate, most new passenger cars were powered by a petrol engine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Georgia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine, while in Moldova, Albania (2024 data), and Kosovo*, the diesel engine was dominant.

^{Kosovo*: This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.}

When it comes to pure petrol and diesel fuel types (excluding hybrids), the picture is somewhat different. Among the EU countries, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, and Sweden show more new passenger cars powered by alternative fuels than new cars powered by pure petrol.

A total of 18 countries have more new hybrid passenger cars (petrol and diesel, plug-in, and non plug-in, together) than new cars powered by pure petrol, pure diesel, or alternative fuels, respectively: Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Romania and Finland.

A higher share of new cars powered by pure petrol (compared to pure diesel, hybrids, and alternative fuels, respectively) was registered in only 6 EU countries. Alongside Denmark, Malta and Sweden have a greater number of vehicles powered by alternative fuels than those fuelled by pure petrol or pure diesel, or hybrids, respectively.

At EU level, the total number of new hybrid passenger cars (4.6 million) exceeds the number of new passenger cars powered by pure petrol (3.0 million). Compared to 2024, the registration of new battery-only electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars at EU level increased by 29.7% and 34.2%, respectively, while the number of new non plug-in hybrid passenger cars increased by 13.4%, and total hybrid passenger cars by 17.4%.

In the EU and EFTA countries for which recent data are available, an increase in the share of new registrations of passenger cars powered by alternative fuels can generally be observed over the last 3 years (Figure 2). In 2025, this share became the majority in Norway (95.1%) and Denmark (67.8%). It exceeded 20% in Iceland (41.2%), the Netherlands (40.6%), Malta (37.6%), Finland (37.2%), Sweden (37.1%), Belgium (34.9%), Portugal (32.4%), Luxembourg (26.7%), Liechtenstein (25.2%), France (22.9%), Switzerland (22.3%), Austria (21.3%), and Romania (20.2%). For all these countries, the share of alternative fuels overtook the diesel share in 2025. This was also the case in Greece, Spain, Italy, and Cyprus.

Contrary to the EU and EFTA countries, most of the candidate countries and potential candidate recorded much lower shares of alternative fuel passenger cars than EU countries, with only Moldova (33.6%), Ukraine (28.7%), Türkiye (17.8%), and Albania (13.3%, 2024 data) recording a share above 10%. Concerning battery-only electric vehicles, only Ukraine and Türkiye featured a share above 10%.

Government incentives to stimulate the use of cars with lower emissions include, for example, tax reductions, subsidies, or specific privileges such as access to lanes reserved for public transport and free parking. Other key factors are the number and variety of passenger car models with alternative fuel engines offered, as well as the more competitive pricing of such models. On the contrary, and linked especially to battery-only vehicles, the limited electric charging infrastructure and the fear of running out of electric power (‘range anxiety’) are often evoked as main obstacles.

A 6.5% increase in registered passenger cars in the EU since 2020

In 2025, the number of registered passenger cars in the EU exceeded 260 million, corresponding to an increase of 6.5% compared with 2020 (Table 2).

The highest number of registered passenger cars was observed in Germany with more than 49 million cars, followed by Italy (more than 41 million cars), and France (almost 40 million cars).

Over the 5-year period from December 2020 to December 2025, there was a strong growth in the number of registered passenger cars in several EU countries: the highest growth over this period was recorded in Romania (21%), followed by Croatia (18%), Lithuania and Cyprus (both 16%), Portugal (15%), Ireland and Bulgaria (both 14%), Slovakia and Greece (both 13%), Czechia and Hungary (both 12%), Denmark and Poland (both 11%), as well as Slovenia (10%).

Among the EU countries with the highest 2025 motorisation rates, i.e. passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants, there are several smaller countries (Figure 3). Italy heads the list (709 passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants), followed by Cyprus (670 cars per 1 000 inhabitants). Other countries with a high motorisation rate include Luxembourg (668 cars), Finland (671 cars), and Poland (639 cars). At the other end of the scale, a particularly low motorisation rate was recorded in Latvia (435 cars), despite a 8.6% growth in the number of registered cars over the period 2020-2025.

These EU countries are overtaken by one EFTA country: Liechtenstein (769 cars), while the other EFTA countries Iceland (645 cars), Switzerland (543 cars), and Norway (524 cars) have lower motorisation rates. The latter 2 countries have rates below the EU average (584 cars).

The motorisation rate in the EU candidate countries and the potential candidate for which data are available is substantially lower than for the EU countries. The lowest value, 203 cars per 1 000 inhabitants, was recorded in Türkiye.

In 2025, Luxembourg, Denmark, Belgium, and Sweden had the highest shares of new electric or hybrid passenger cars

In 14 of the 21 EU countries for which information is available for 2025, there were more petrol cars than diesel cars (including hybrids), with the share of petrol cars ranging from 79% in Cyprus to 48% in Austria (Table 3) (the Netherlands had a share of 85% in 2024). In the other 7 EU countries, diesel cars outnumbered petrol cars with shares ranging from 65% in Latvia to 51% in Ireland, Spain, and Romania.

Despite efforts across Europe to increase the share of cars with low emissions, the share of passenger cars powered by alternative fuels remained low in 2025 in most EU countries. In 19 out of 22 EU countries for which information is available, passenger cars using alternative energy represented less than 10% of the total passenger car fleet, of which 2 less than 2%.

The EU country with the highest share is Denmark, where passenger cars powered by alternative fuels reached 18% in 2025. Other countries with notable shares of passenger cars using alternative fuels are Norway (32%), Sweden (12%), Italy (11%), and Luxembourg (9%). In 2024, Bulgaria had a share of 14%, of which liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cars accounted for 12.5%.

Among candidate countries and potential candidate, the highest share of passenger cars powered by alternative fuels was registered in Türkiye (32%), followed by Georgia (29%) and Moldova (19%). In Norway, almost all (99.97%) of alternative fuel passenger cars are battery-only electric vehicles, while in Türkiye and Moldova, the share of LPG cars is dominant among the passenger cars using alternative fuels.

In 2025, a total of 15 EU countries out of the 22 for which information is available had more hybrid passenger cars (petrol and diesel, plug-in, and non plug-in, together) than alternative fuel cars on the road: Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Finland. As for the EFTA countries, Switzerland registered a higher number of hybrid passenger cars, and it was the same situation for Montenegro among the candidate countries and the potential candidate.

The highest share of either hybrid or battery-only electric cars was recorded in Luxembourg (24%), while it exceeded 10% in Denmark (22%), Sweden and Belgium (both 20%), Ireland and Finland (both 15%), Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands (all 13%), Italy (11%), and Portugal, Cyprus, and Spain (all 10%). In Norway, this share was 45%, far above the highest rate observed in the EU countries.

Small petrol engines more common than medium-sized and large engines

In 14 out of the 22 EU countries for which data are available, the share of small petrol engines (i.e. under 1400 cc engine displacement) is higher than the cumulated shares of medium- and large-sized ones (Table 4). In the car industry, there is a general tendency to “downsize” engines, i.e. reduce the engine displacement without reducing the power output, mainly for energy efficiency reasons.

In Malta, in 2025, more than half of all passenger cars had small petrol engines (54.7%), followed by the Netherlands with 51.2% (2024 data). In Cyprus, medium-sized petrol engines powered 39.6% of the passenger cars, followed by Finland with 38.7%. The highest shares of large petrol engines were found in Estonia (10.7% of all passenger cars), Luxembourg (9.2%), and Finland (9.1%); and in the EFTA countries, in Liechtenstein (16.5%, 2024 data) and Switzerland (10.6%).

Overall, passenger cars with small engines generally use petrol as fuel; there are relatively few passenger cars with small diesel engines in the EU. In 2025, medium-sized engines dominated amongst the diesel-powered passenger cars in all 22 EU countries for which data are available (Table 5). This was particularly the case for the group of countries with shares of diesel-powered passenger cars exceeding 50% (Ireland, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Lithuania, and Latvia). Lithuania and Latvia, the EU countries with the highest proportions of diesel-powered vehicles, also stood out in another respect: their share of large diesel-powered motor engines (> 2 000 cm³) was quite significant (25.5% and 20.1%, respectively).

Increasing share of heavy cars

The information on passenger cars also allows for a breakdown by unladen vehicle weight. The heaviest category includes passenger cars over 1 500 kg. Very typically heavy cars are the Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) – large, high, heavy, and often equipped with 4-wheel drive.

Nevertheless, heavy does not necessarily mean large. This is particularly the case with electric vehicles, which need to accommodate a heavy pack of batteries (several hundred kilos) that add extra weight compared with a non-electric vehicle of similar size. Furthermore, safety regulations and consumer expectations for high crash-test scores have necessitated improvements that have resulted in stronger passenger cabins, energy-absorbing crumple zones, and more mandatory safety equipment. Such elements add weight to a vehicle, which then needs larger brakes, bigger tires, and stronger suspension systems.

The share of heavy cars (i.e. an unladen weight of 1 500 kg or over) in national vehicle fleets is steadily increasing (Figure 4). Over the last decade (2015-2025), this can be observed in all countries for which data are available. The highest increase in the share of the heaviest passenger cars was recorded in Latvia (22 percentage points, or pp), followed by Denmark (19 pp), and Romania and Estonia (both 18 pp).

In 2025, the shares of passenger cars with an unladen weight of 1 500 kg or over were highest in Latvia (62.6%), Sweden (60.1%), Lithuania (57.1%), Estonia (55.4%), Luxembourg (52.7%), and Malta (48.4%). Conversely, various other EU countries reported a large share of passenger cars with unladen weight of less than 1 000 kg in 2025 (Figure 5): the Netherlands (26.9%, 2024 data), Denmark (24.0%), Hungary (15.9%), and Cyprus (14.4%). Note that the Netherlands and Denmark partly base their vehicle taxation on the unladen weight of the vehicle.

Renewal of the passenger car fleet: rate ranging from 1.5% to 10.3%

In 2025, the renewal rate of passenger cars (ratio of first-registered to total passenger cars, excluding imported second-hand vehicles) in the EU countries ranged from 1.5% in Bulgaria to 10.3% in Luxembourg (Map 1). The exceptionally high renewal rate for Luxembourg (sometimes higher in previous years compared with 2025) is influenced by the significant market share of car leasing, where vehicle replacements often occur after only a few years.

Luxembourg has the youngest car fleet by a large margin

In past years, some countries have been offering programmes supporting the purchase of new cars with low emissions while scrapping the owners' old cars. The general aim of these programmes has been to renew the passenger car fleet with lower emission cars, while simultaneously stimulating the economy. These programmes have had a certain influence on the age composition of passenger cars in individual countries.

The shares of the youngest passenger cars (less than 2 years old) were highest in Luxembourg (19.8%), Germany (15.5%), Belgium (14.9%), Austria (13.5%), Sweden (13.2%), Ireland (12.8%, 2023 data), the Netherlands (12.6%, 2024 data), Portugal (10.2%), and Denmark (10.1%). Conversely, various other EU countries reported a large share of old passenger cars (20 years or older) in 2025 (Figure 6). Those countries were Romania (39.1%), Finland (36.3%), Poland (35.1%, 2024 data), Estonia (34.7%), Hungary (30.9%), Portugal (29.6%), Lithuania (29.4%), Latvia (28.4%), Spain (27.5%), and Malta (27.0%).

Figure 7 presents the EU countries with the highest shares of the youngest and oldest passenger cars in 2025 (i.e. on 31 December 2025).

Source data for tables and graphs

Passenger cars in the EU: tables and figures

Data sources

The main source is the 'Eurostat/ITF/UNECE Common Questionnaire on Inland Transport Statistics'. Some gaps have been filled in with estimates from the European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO) or from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Some public sources (NSI websites, Open data) have been used as well.

Coverage

The data in this article covers the EU countries, the EFTA countries, and the candidate countries and potential candidate (list of countries and the corresponding country codes).

Definitions

All definitions used are taken from the Eurostat/UNECE/ITF Glossary for Transport Statistics, currently in its 6th edition.

Passenger cars

Road motor vehicle, other than mopeds or motorcycles, intended for the carriage of passengers and designed to seat no more than nine persons (including the driver). Refers to category M₁ of the UN Consolidated Resolution on the Construction of Vehicles (R.E.3).

Included are:

Privately owned passenger cars
Company cars
Vans designed and used primarily for transport of passengers (if duly registered in M₁)
Taxis
Private hire cars
Shared cars
Rented cars
Motor homes (camper vans) below 3.5 tonnes maximum mass
Special passenger cars (ambulances, police cars, firefighter cars, etc.)

Excluded are light utility vehicles, buses, motor coaches, and mini-buses/mini-coaches.

New vehicles registered

New vehicles registered during the year are those vehicles that are registered for the first time, irrespective of the country of registration. Imported second-hand vehicles are excluded.

Vehicles by type of motor energy

The principal type of motor energy used by the vehicle is the one certified by the competent authority of the country of registration.

Alternative-fuel-powered vehicle

Road motor vehicles equipped to receive fuels or power sources that serve, at least partly, as a substitute for fossil oil sources in energy used for transport, and that have the potential to contribute to its decarbonisation and to enhance the environmental performance of the transport sector, including:

a) zero-emission vehicles (ZEV):

battery-only electric vehicles (BEV)
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEV)

b) other renewable-fuel-powered vehicles:

biomass-fuel-powered vehicles, including biogas and biofuels
synthetic- and paraffinic-fuel-powered vehicles, with fuels produced from renewable energy

c) non-renewable alternative-fuel-powered and transitional fossil-fuel-powered vehicles:

vehicles fuelled by natural gas in gaseous form (CNG) or liquefied form (liquefied natural gas, or LNG)
vehicles fuelled by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
vehicles fuelled by synthetic and paraffinic low-carbon fuels produced from non-renewable energy.

Motorisation rate

The number of passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants.

Context

The Common Questionnaire for Inland Transport Statistics is a joint project of Eurostat, the International Transport Forum (ITF), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The data are provided on a voluntary basis by a large number of countries, both within and outside the EU. Data are collected from reliable sources, but data collection methodologies are not harmonised at EU level. Vehicle registers may include very old vehicles without signs of life (roadworthiness test, insurance, etc.). This article covers data provided by the EU countries, EFTA countries, EU candidate countries, and the potential candidate.

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Database

Transport, see:

Road transport (road)

Road transport equipment - Stock of vehicles (road_eqs)

Road transport equipment - New registration of vehicles (road_eqr)

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