The small countries of the European Union seem to have a greater propensity to motorization. At least that is what the latest data published by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) suggest, placing four small Member States in the Top-Five of those with more vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. Finland is ranked in the third position.
The numbers released by Eurostat show that in 2017 Luxembourg was the Member State with the highest 'motorization rate'. This little country with a population of less than 600,000 people headed this ranking calculated in relative terms, with 670 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants. However, The statistical office of the EU explains that this figure may be influenced by the presence of many cross-border workers using company cars registered in the country.
After Luxembourg, the second country in the list was Italy with 625 cars per 1,000 inhabitants. Then came Finland in third place (617 cars per 1,000 inhabitants). Malta was fourth (613 cars) and Cyprus completed the 'top-five' with 609 cars per 1,000 inhabitants.
Romania, Hungary and Latvia are the least
On the contrary, a look at the same ranking but from the bottom to the top shows that the countries with the lowest motorization rates in 2017 were Romania (261 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants), Hungary (355) and Latvia (356).
In absolute terms, the largest Member States dominated the scene. The highest number of registered passenger cars in 2017 was observed in Germany, with 46 million cars. Thereafter followed Italy (37 million cars: 2016 data) and France (32 million cars).
Over the five year period from 2013 to 2017, there was strong growth in the number of registered passenger cars in several Member States.
Thus, the highest growth over this period in the number of registered cars was recorded in Slovakia (18%), followed by Czechia and Portugal (both 17%), Estonia (15%), Malta and Hungary (both 14%).
