Report – Vehicles on European roads 

In addition to revealing the number of vehicles on Europe’s roads, this report also includes other key data, such as the average vehicle age, vehicle power types, vehicle ownership, and more. Complementing ACEA’s regular car, van, truck, and bus sales updates, this unique report provides a snapshot of what the ‘fleet’ of vehicles on Europe’s roads looks like.

Top insights

• There are 252 million cars on EU roads in 2022, a 1% increase from the previous year  
• Despite battery-electric sales reaching all-time highs in 2022, only 1.2% of cars on EU roads are battery-electric 
• There are over 30 million vans on EU roads, a 1.5% increase from the previous year. France leads the way with the largest number of vans in circulation 
• Over 6.5 million trucks are now on EU roads, an almost 2% increase from the previous year. On average, trucks remain the oldest of all vehicle types at 14 years 
• There are now over 720,000 buses on EU roads. Battery-electric models comprise over 10% of buses in three EU countries (Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) 
• Poland has the highest number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants, while Latvia trails with the least 

The report demonstrates that while legislative targets can help steer change, this is only part of the puzzle for decarbonising road transport. Europe needs a broad set of framework conditions, such as charging infrastructure and purchase and tax incentives, to stimulate demand for new models and replenish vehicles on Europe’s roads with the cleanest and greenest models.

Complementing ACEA’s regular car, van, truck, and bus sales updates, this unique report ‘Vehicles on European Roads’ provides a snapshot of what the ‘fleet’ of vehicles on Europe’s roads looks like.