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 2014 Car Sales 2013 % Change
AUSTRIA 303,318 319,035 -4.9
BELGIUM 482,939 486,065 -0.6
BULGARIA 20,359 19,352 5.2
CROATIA 33,997 27,802 22.3
CYPRUS 8,347 7,102 17.5
CZECH REPUBLIC 192,314 164,736 16.7
DENMARK 189,051 182,201 3.8
ESTONIA 20,861 19,500 7
FINLAND 106,236 103,455 2.7
FRANCE 1,795,885 1,790,456 0.3
GERMANY 3,036,773 2,952,431 2.9
GREECE 71,218 58,694 21.3
HUNGARY 67,476 56,140 20.2
IRELAND 96,344 74,367 29.6
ITALY 1,359,616 1,304,648 4.2
LATVIA 12,452 10,636 17.1
LITHUANIA 14,503 12,152 19.3
LUXEMBURG 49,793 46,624 6.8
NETHERLANDS 387,835 416,730 -6.9
POLAND 327,219 289,913 12.9
PORTUGAL 142,827 105,921 34.8
ROMANIA 70,172 57,710 21.6
SLOVAKIA 72,249 66,000 9.5
SLOVENIA 53,296 50,878 4.8
SPAIN 855,308 722,689 18.4
SWEDEN 303,948 269,599 12.7
UNITED KINGDOM 2,476,435 2,264,737 9.3
EUROPEAN UNION 12,550,771 11,879,573 5.7
EU15 11,657,526 11,097,652 5
EU13 893,245 781,921 14.2
ICELAND 9,536 7,274 31.1
NORWAY 144,202 142,151 1.4
SWITZERLAND 301,942 307,885 -1.9
EFTA 455,680 457,310 -0.4
EU28+EFTA 13,006,451 12,336,883 5.4

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.