Romania has fewest cars per 1,000 inhabitants in EU

Romania has the lowest motorization rate among the European Union countries, with 332 passenger cars per thousand inhabitants as of 2018, according to data published by the European Statistical Office - Eurostat.

Luxembourg had the highest rate, 676 cars per thousand inhabitants, mainly due to cross-border employees who use the vehicles of companies registered in this country. Italy is next (with 646 cars), followed by Cyprus and Finland (both with 629 cars).

The lowest rates were in Romania (332 cars per thousand inhabitants), Latvia (369 cars), and Hungary (373 cars).

In 2018, Germany had the highest number of registered cars (47 million units), followed by Italy (39 million cars), and France (32 million cars).

Between 2014 and 2018, Romania had the most significant advance in the number of registered cars (31%). The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania (each with 19%), Hungary and Portugal (both with 17%) and Cyprus (15%) were next.

The highest percentage of cars over 20 years old was reported in Poland (36.5%), Estonia (29.6%), Finland (25.2%), Romania (21.4% ) and Malta (20.8%). In contrast, Ireland has the highest share of new cars, less than two years old, 29.2%, followed by Luxembourg (23.8%), Denmark (23.3%), and Belgium (23.1%).

Romanian local sources show that in 2019, there were approximately 8.75 mln vehicles registered in the country, of which over 6.9 mln were passenger cars.

(Photo source: Vlad Ispas/Dreamstime.com)