2014 (Full Year) Europe: Car Sales by EU Country

In 2014, car sales in the European Union and EFTA countries grew by 5.4% to 13,006,451 new passenger vehicle registrations – the first increase since 2007. In December 2014, the European car market expanded for the 16^th consecutive month. Germany remained Europe’s largest single-country car market but auto sales in second-placed Britain grew more than three times faster. The Volkswagen Group remained Europe’s largest car manufacturer with Volkswagen the best-selling brand and the VW Golf still Europe’s favorite car model.

The European Car Market in 2014 (Full Year)

New passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union and EFTA countries in 2014 increased by 5.4% to 13,006,451 cars – almost 700,000 cars more than in 2013. After six consecutive years of contraction, the European car market finally expanded again in 2014 with almost all countries showing growth.

Car sales in the European Union grew by 5.7% to 12,550,771 new passenger vehicle registrations in 2014.

Car Sales by European Country in 2014 (Full Year)

New passenger vehicle registrations per European Union and EFTA country in 2014 according to car sales statistics released by the ACEA were as follows:

All statistics exclude data for Malta.

Car Sales in European Countries in 2014

Germany remained the largest single-country car market in Europe in 2014. Car sales in Germany increased by a below average 2.9% to just more than 3 million cars.

Second-placed Britain contributed a third of all car sales growth in the EU in 2014. Car sales in the United Kingdom increased by 9.3%, or more than 200,000 cars, to 1,476,435 vehicles.

Car sales in Europe’s third largest market, France, were flat. In Italy, car sales increased by a more positive 4.2%. Spain saw the biggest expansion of the top 5 countries – 18% growth meant an increase of more than 130,000 cars.

Only four countries had weaker car sales in 2014 than in 2013. Sales in Belgium were slightly weaker while The Netherlands was the worst performing car market in Europe in 2014. However, both countries maintained their relative positions from a year ago. In contrast, Austria slipped from 8^th to 10^th and Switzerland from 9^th to 11^th.

Poland and Sweden had 13% increases in car sales in 2014 allowing Poland to move from 10^th to 8^th and Sweden entered the top ten at 9 ^th from 11^th.

Several countries experienced a large expansion of the car markets in 2014. The best performer was Portugal with sales up by 35%. Car sales increased by around 30% in Iceland and Ireland. In Croatia, Romania, Greece, Hungary, and Lithuania sales were up by around a fifth.

Volkswagen remained the largest carmaker and brand in Europe in 2014 while the VW Golf was still the top-selling car model in Europe in 2014.