Size of the vehicle fleet in Europe

TERM32 Vehicle ownership and truck intensity

Note: FLEETS and TREMOVE results refer to 30 EEA member countries (that is EU-27 plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey).

Data source:

Vehicle stock of passenger cars, buses/coaches and two-wheelers, 1995-2008 from FLEETS. Vehicle stock of light and heavy duty trucks, 1995-2008 from TREMOVE v3.1. Population and GDP data, 1995-2008 from Eurostat.

Downloads and more info

TERM32 Passenger car ownership

Note: FLEETS data refer to 30 EEA member countries (that is EU-27 plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey).

Data source:

Vehicle stock, 1995-2008 from FLEETS. Population data, 1995-2008 from Eurostat.

Downloads and more info

TERM32 Trucks per unit of GDP

Note: TREMOVE results refer to 30 EEA member countries (that is EU-27 plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey).

Data source:

Vehicle stock, 1995-2008 from TREMOVE v3.1. GDP data, 1995-2008 from Eurostat.

Downloads and more info

TERM32 Dieselisation

Note: FLEETS data refer to 30 EEA member countries (that is EU-27 plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey).

Data source:

Vehicle stock, 1995-2008 from FLEETS.

Downloads and more info

• Passenger transport vehicles

The entire vehicle fleet in the EEA area has grown in the period 1995 to 2008. Especially the vehicle fleets in the new EU member states have grown rapidly, reflecting significant changes in the structure of both passenger transport (from rail to private cars) and freight transport (from rail to trucks).

Car ownership has increased considerably over the same period. In the EEA-32 area it grew from 326 to 419 cars per 1 000 inhabitants between 1995 and 2008, an average of 2 % per year. The average number of passenger cars per capita increased particularly strongly in the new member states of the EU, following economic growth. Despite this increase, the car ownership level in the new EU Member States remains considerably lower compared to the old EU-15 and EFTA countries.

The main factors underlying the growth of PCs per capita in the EEA area are (a) decreasing number of persons per household, (b) increasing number of cars per household and (c) increases in the average travel distance, lower accessibility and flexibility by public transport and changes in lifestyle patterns.

The strong growth is slowing down in most EU countries, as the number of cars per capita is already relatively high. This can be explained by the fact that households may need one or two cars, but generally not more. In contrast, countries with lower numbers of cars per capita show rapid increases in vehicle ownership. The latter applies to the new member states, but also to a couple of EU-15 countries.

The share of diesel cars in the entire passenger car fleet continuously increased in most Member States in the time period 1995-2008. In the entire EEA area it doubled from 14 % to 28 %. From an energy efficiency point of view this means that less energy is consumed for the same transport activity (expressed in passenger-kilometres or tonne-kilometres). From the pollutant emissions point of view there are strong indications that dieselisation could result in a considerable decrease of the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions, but also in an increase in nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions.

The average level of powered two-wheeler (including motorcycles) ownership in the EEA area increased significantly by about 28 % between 1995 and 2008, while there is a lower increase of 22 % in the number of buses and coaches per 1 000 inhabitants over the same period.

• Freight transport vehicles

The number of trucks per unit of GDP (truck intensity) is considerably higher in the new EU Member States than in the old EU-15. The trend in 'own account' transport (i.e. operations in which a company transports its own goods from one place to another) in the EU15 has been declining over the years. On the other hand, the new member states have a relatively higher share of road freight transport carried out as 'own account' and consequently a lower share of 'hire or reward' transport (i.e. when the transport operator is not the owner of the goods) compared to old EU-15 Member States. 'Hire or reward' transport companies will be better organised to pick up different loads at ends of their route, reducing the amount of empty running. This means that a higher 'own account' share will require more trucks for the same amount of transport, which could explain the higher truck intensity in the new member states.

The high number of trucks per unit of GDP observed in the Baltic States and the newest EU member states (Bulgaria and Romania) are related to low GDP levels and relatively high (road) freight transport intensity. Malta and Cyprus also show relatively high numbers of trucks per unit of GDP, which could be explained by the absence of alternative inland freight transport modes (there are no railways on these islands).