Germany sees record number of cars per citizen in 2022

Germany saw a record number of 583 cars per 1,000 citizens in 2022, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Tuesday, reported dpa.

Over the past 10 years, the density of cars has risen consistently, the office reported - the only exception being Berlin.

While 342 cars per 1,000 inhabitants were counted in the capital in 2012, the figure dropped to 338 last year.

According to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, 48.8 million passenger cars were registered in Germany as of January 1, 2023, more than ever before.

More than three quarters (78%) of private households owned at least one car last year according to the calculations. The trend is towards second or third cars: the share of households with two cars increased from 24.5% to 27% over the 10-year period, while the share of households with three or more cars rose from 4.1% to 6.2%.

In a comparison to the 27 European Union member states, Germany ranked 8th in terms of car density in 2022, as in the previous year.

According to the study, the most cars in relation to the population at the turn of the year 2021-2022 were in Poland (687), Luxembourg (681) and Italy (675). The lowest car density was in Romania (400).

In all EU states, car density has increased in the last 10 years.