Congested roads, high maintenance costs and air pollution: the negative effects of travelling by car are obvious. Nevertheless, the car is still the main form of transport in today´s society. The number of passenger cars is increasing, and with it the volume of traffic and emissions.

Number of passenger cars reaches new peak

In total, there are more than 49 million passenger cars on Germany´s roads. In 2023, car density in Germany reached a new peak of 588 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants. In the EU, Germany was ranked 9th. The EU´s highest motorisation rate was registered in Italy with 694 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants, the lowest in Latvia (418).

Classic combustion engines still very widespread

In Germany around 56% of all newly registered cars in 2023 were equipped with a classic combustion engine: 34% ran on petrol and 25% on diesel. 18% of the 2.8 million newly registered cars were electric. In Norway 81% of newly registered passenger cars in 2023 were electric (source: Eurostat new registrations in total, electric cars).

Passenger cars account for more than 80% of passenger transport

The car remained the by far most common form of transport in the EU. The share of public transport remains low.

Rising carbon dioxide emissions

In 2022, around 756 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted by road transport across the EU. This represents a 24% increase on the 1990 level. Most of the emissions from road transport are caused by passenger cars.

Source: Eurostat

Road transport: more than 20,600 deaths per year

More than 20,600 people were killed in road accidents in 2022. Almost 2,800 people died in Germany alone. This corresponds to an average of seven people per day.

Source: Eurostat

Last update: 21.02.2025