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ACEA report reveals key insights on vehicles in Europe

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The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has released its latest report, Vehicles on European Roads 2025, offering a comprehensive look at the makeup of the EU’s vehicle fleet. The report provides crucial insights into vehicle ownership, powertrain distribution, and fleet age, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in Europe’s transition to greener mobility.

Fleet growth and composition

As of 2023, there were 249 million passenger cars on EU roads, marking a 1.4% increase from the previous year. Italy led in car ownership density, with 694 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, while Latvia had the lowest at 381 per 1,000.

Light commercial vehicles (vans) also saw growth, increasing by 1.7% to 30.1 million, with only 1.3% being electrically chargeable. Medium and heavy-duty trucks totalled six million, a 0.8% rise, though just 0.1% were electric. Meanwhile, the bus sector expanded by 0.9% to 680,000 vehicles, with battery-electric buses comprising 3% of the fleet.

Electrification progress and challenges

The report underscores the slow integration of electric vehicles into the EU’s overall fleet. Despite battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) representing 13.6% of new car registrations in 2023, they still make up only 1.8% of all cars on European roads. Electrically chargeable passenger cars grew from 2.2% to 3.9% of the total fleet, but further acceleration is needed to meet decarbonisation goals.

Among vans, 90.5% remain diesel-powered, while only 1.1% are battery electric. Trucks are even further behind in the transition, with 96.4% still running on diesel and a mere 0.1% featuring zero-emission powertrains. The bus sector shows more promise, with battery-electric models accounting for over 10% of fleets in Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

Ageing vehicle fleet and replacement concerns

One of the most significant challenges revealed by the report is the ageing European vehicle fleet. The average EU passenger car is now 12.5 years old, with Greece having the oldest fleet (17.5 years) and Luxembourg the newest (8 years). Light commercial vehicles average 12.7 years, while trucks remain the oldest category, with an average age of 14.1 years.

The slow replacement of older vehicles with cleaner models is a major concern. “It can take years, even decades, for older vehicles to be replaced by newer models equipped with cleaner and greener technologies,” noted ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries.

Policy recommendations and the road ahead

ACEA stresses that legislative targets alone are insufficient for achieving meaningful change. The report calls for a comprehensive approach that includes enhanced charging infrastructure, tax incentives, and purchase subsidies to drive demand for cleaner models.

Sigrid de Vries noted: “The ecosystem as a whole must become more attractive to customers and the current regulatory framework should be revised to foster a broader set of enabling conditions, such as charging infrastructure and purchase and tax incentives, to stimulate demand for new models and replenish vehicles on Europe’s roads with the cleanest and greenest models.”

While the number of vehicles on EU roads continues to rise, the transition to greener mobility requires a concerted effort from policymakers, manufacturers, and consumers. The full report, which provides an in-depth analysis of these trends and statistics, is available for download at ACEA’s website.