Top Car-Producing Countries in the EU

Key Takeaways

• Germany is the largest passenger car-producing country in the EU. It built 3.9 million cars in 2024.
• Germany hosts around 50 vehicle assembly plants. That is almost as many as France’s 34 and Spain’s 20 plants combined.
• Slovakia only has a population of 5.4 million people. However, it built 993,750 passenger cars in 2024. That makes it the EU’s leading car producer per person.
• Czechia produced 1.4 million passenger cars in 2024. It built more passenger cars that year than France did despite having a smaller population.
• EU car production fell 6.2% in 2024 compared to 2023. That decline reflects Europe’s weakening appeal as a place to build passenger cars.

Passenger Car Production Across EU Countries

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Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

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Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Germany Outproduces Spain and Czechia Combined in Passenger Car Production

EU car production fell 6.2% in 2024 compared to 2023. That decline reflects Europe’s weakening appeal as a place to build passenger cars.

Even so, Germany is the top car-producing country in the EU. It built 3.9 million passenger cars in 2024.

Germany’s 3.9 million passenger cars made up over a third of total EU car production. Spain (1.87 mil.) and Czechia (1.45 mil.) rank second and third among the EU’s top car-producing countries.

Germany alone built more passenger cars than Spain and Czechia combined.

Germany hosts around 50 vehicle assembly plants. That is almost as many as France’s 34 and Spain’s 20 combined.

Germany is also home to some of the world’s largest car companies. That includes Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. They make  Germany’s top 3 companies by revenue.

Slovakia Builds More Passenger Cars Per Person Than Any Other EU Country

Slovakia builds more passenger cars per person than any other EU country. It ranks fourth among the top car-producing countries in Europe.

Slovakia only has 5.4 million people. However, it built 993,750 passenger cars in 2024.

That works out to about 184 passenger cars for every 1,000 people in the country.

Four global automakers build passenger cars in Slovakia:

• Volkswagen
• Stellantis
• Kia
• Jaguar Land Rover

Slovakia has just 5 vehicle assembly plants. Each one produces passenger cars on a massive scale.

Czechia Builds More Passenger Cars Than France With a Fraction of the Population

Czechia produced 1.4 million passenger cars in 2024. It ranks third among EU countries for car production.

Czechia built more passenger cars in 2024 than France did. That is despite a huge population gap between the two countries.

Czechia’s population was about 10.9 million people at the end of 2024. That is one part of the wider picture of population change across Europe.

France’s population was about 68.4 million people in January 2024. That is more than six times larger than Czechia’s 10.9 million.

Population of European countries ->

Czechia’s car industry has deep historical roots. Škoda has built passenger cars in the country since 1905.

Volkswagen acquired Škoda in 1991. That gave Škoda access to Volkswagen’s money and technology.

Toyota and Hyundai also opened plants in Czechia after 1989. Both automakers pointed to Czechia’s skilled workforce and long engineering tradition as reasons to invest there.

Car manufacturing in the EU no longer runs through Western Europe alone. Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary produced 3.3 million cars combined in 2024.