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

eep at the Geneva Auto Salon 2014In 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 16th 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:

Car Sales 2014Car Sales 2013% Change
AUSTRIA303,318319,035-4.9
BELGIUM482,939486,065-0.6
BULGARIA20,35919,3525.2
CROATIA33,99727,80222.3
CYPRUS8,3477,10217.5
CZECH REPUBLIC192,314164,73616.7
DENMARK189,051182,2013.8
ESTONIA20,86119,5007
FINLAND106,236103,4552.7
FRANCE1,795,8851,790,4560.3
GERMANY3,036,7732,952,4312.9
GREECE71,21858,69421.3
HUNGARY67,47656,14020.2
IRELAND96,34474,36729.6
ITALY1,359,6161,304,6484.2
LATVIA12,45210,63617.1
LITHUANIA14,50312,15219.3
LUXEMBURG49,79346,6246.8
NETHERLANDS387,835416,730-6.9
POLAND327,219289,91312.9
PORTUGAL142,827105,92134.8
ROMANIA70,17257,71021.6
SLOVAKIA72,24966,0009.5
SLOVENIA53,29650,8784.8
SPAIN855,308722,68918.4
SWEDEN303,948269,59912.7
UNITED KINGDOM2,476,4352,264,7379.3
EUROPEAN UNION12,550,77111,879,5735.7
EU1511,657,52611,097,6525
EU13893,245781,92114.2
ICELAND9,5367,27431.1
NORWAY144,202142,1511.4
SWITZERLAND301,942307,885-1.9
EFTA455,680457,310-0.4
EU28+EFTA13,006,45112,336,8835.4

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 8th to 10th and Switzerland from 9th to 11th.

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

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.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.