Romania, lowest motorization rate among EU member states in 2020
The EU average in 2020 was one passenger car for every two inhabitants, or 0.53 cars per inhabitant. In Romania, the rate dropped to 379 passenger cars per thousand inhabitants, or 0.38 cars per inhabitant.
There are striking differences between various regions within the European Union, according to Eurostat data cited by Economedia. Valle d’Aosta, in the Italian northwest, had 1787 passenger cars per thousand inhabitants, an extreme rate. The Trento Autonomous Province (1285) in northern Italy had a motorization rate seven times higher than Greece’s Peloponnese. Another region of Italy, Bolzano (871), also made the podium, followed by the Netherlands’ Flevoland (857) and the Finnish Åland Islands (840).
Regional motorization rates depend on the economic situation specific to every area, but can also be impacted by the proximity to a large city. Flevoland, for example, is close to Amsterdam and Utrecht and also has the larger cities of Almere and Lelystad within it.
Other specific contexts can incentivize motorization rates. The taxation in Valle d’Aosta, for example, favors car ownership.
The lowest motorization rates were reported in two French overseas departments and three Greek regions: Mayotte (72), Peloponnese (186), French Guiana (209), Central Greece (238), and the North Aegean Sea (261).
Among states, Eastern EU members overall had the lowest motorization rates, while vast gaps separated Western member states.
Romania had the lowest motorization rate in 2020, 379 passenger cars per thousand inhabitants.
The Bucharest-Ilfov region (596) is the only one that does not belong among the EU regions with the lowest motorization rates, while the rest fall below the 450 per thousand inhabitants threshold. The capital region is followed by Romania’s West (398), North-West (376), Center (374), South-West (357), South-East (353), South (329), and North-East (291).
No major differences can be observed between the West and Eastern EU member states with regard to utility vehicles like trucks, tractors, and other vehicles designed for a specific task. Nine out of fifteen regions with the highest rates for utility vehicles are in Spain. The Canary Islands (25.4%) rank first.
(Photo source: Antikainen | Dreamstime.com)
