Talking about mobility, the highest car owners in selected countries worldwide can be found in Saudi Arabia, where 95 percent of consumers are part of this category. The second highest ranking country is Malaysia with 95 percent of respondents falling into this category. The last place is taken by Philippines.Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than 2,000,000 interviews.

This statistic shows the percentage of households owning a passenger car in 2014, with a breakdown by major economy. In 2014, more than 80 percent of Japanese households had registered at least one passenger vehicle.

Car ownership in households

Unsurprisingly, most countries with high car ownership rates in 2014 were regions with advanced economies. Americans were on the top of the list among surveyed countries, with 88 percent reporting to own a car. More common places to find a car included Germany, South Korea, France, Malaysia, and Japan, each with more than an 80 percent car ownership rate. By contrast, Vietnam and Bangladesh had the least passenger vehicles registered, with only two percent of the population reporting to own a car.

In the United States, a great share of people from affluent households reported owning or leasing a vehicle falling into the truck, SUV, and van category, followed by crossover vehicle. Toyota, Honda and Nissan were the best-selling passenger car manufacturers in the country, in terms of sales in 2015.

Two-wheelers, the more economical alternative to a car, were more often seen in South and Southeast Asia, as more than 80 percent of households in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia owned a motorcycle or scooter. Overall, bicycles were more common around the globe than cars. Countries with the most bike owners include Germany, Indonesia, China, and India.

In 2017, there were about 360 vehicles per thousand persons in Bahrain. In that year, the total number of vehicles in Bahrain amounted to approximately 536.72 thousand vehicles.

The average cost of car ownership in Europe was the highest in Switzerland, with 1,313 euros, and the lowest in Greece, with 905 euros, in 2022. While Northern European countries have relatively higher car costs, such as Norway and Netherlands, the cost of driving is relatively low in Eastern European countries like Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. In addition, driving a car in France was the cheapest among Western European countries at an average of 999 euros.

In 2023, the overall motorization rate in Israel was 417 vehicles per 1,000 people. For passenger cars, this amounted to 361 cars per 1,000 people. Over the observed period, the number of motor vehicles per capita consistently increased. Furthermore, car ownership rates in the country are notably lower than that of other wealthy countries.

In 2020, Brunei had the highest vehicle to population ratio among Southeast Asian countries, with around 997.8 vehicles per 1,000 population. In contrast, there were approximately 27.9 vehicles per 1,000 population in Cambodia that year.

Main motor vehicles markets in Southeast Asia

Indonesia leads the motor vehicle sales in Southeast Asia with more than one million vehicles sold in a year, closely followed by Thailand. However, in terms of production the opposite is true. Thailand leads the motor vehicle production in the region with under two million vehicles. And Indonesia follows with almost one and a half million vehicles produced in a year. In 2022, Southeast Asian countries were characterized by significant growth in annual motor vehicle sales, led by Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, with over 30 percent increase each.

What purchase aspects do Southeast Asian vehicle buyers value?

Almost half of the consumers in Southeast Asia believe that striking a good deal is an important aspect of the vehicle purchasing experience. When it comes to choosing a car brand, consumers in Southeast Asia appreciate quality, with 71 percent of the consumers treasuring product quality as an important factor driving brand choice. Nevertheless, a shift towards more sustainable preferences is present among the consumers in the region. Even though there are many concerns regarding battery electric vehicles in the region, consumers think that there are several reasons to switch to electric cars as the number of charging stations increases and EV performance equals or surpasses that of combustible-engine or hybrid cars.

On average, there are 1.88 vehicles per U.S. household. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the percentage of households without a car or light truck came to around nine percent in 2017, meaning that about 90 percent of households had at least one light vehicle at their disposal in that same year.

Most Americans drive daily

In a recent Gallup poll among U.S. adults, about 64 percent of respondents claimed to drive daily, while another 19 percent of respondents stated that they would use a motor vehicle multiple times in an average week. These figures are in line with the U.S. motorization rate, which stood at 821 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015.

 These streets were made for driving  

The United States has the most extensive road network, compared to any other country in the world: its road network encompasses almost 6.6 million kilometers or about four million miles. In 2018, there were about 270 million vehicles roaming the streets of the country.

In 2022, Liechtenstein had the highest motorization rate in Europe with 773 passenger cars per thousand people in the country. The country's small population contributes to its very high motorization rate. In 2022, Germany had the largest number of registered passenger cars in operation in Europe.

This statistic show the share of households in several Asia countries that owns a car in 2014. As per the statistic, Thailand had a car ownership rate of 51 percent among households in 2014.

China's motorization rate stood at At 173 motor vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in 2018. That year, between 23 and 24 million passenger vehicles were sold to Chinese customers.

This statistic represents the average costs of vehicle ownership in selected countries, as of 2017. In the United States, the total cost of driving came to around 10,290 U.S. dollars. The cost of driving was highest in New York City, where motorists had to incur some 18,926 U.S. dollars in expenditures related to vehicle ownership, parking, and congestion.

In 2023, on average, one in two urban households and one in three rural households in China owned a car. Altogether, there were 49.7 cars for every 100 Chinese households. This figure has increased more than two times in the last decade.

A result of China’s economic miracle The substantial increase in car ownership in China is directly correlated with the country's rapid economic development since the 1980s. Until the late 1990s, there were few private cars in China. Cars were generally owned by public organizations, corporations, or transportation companies. The opening of joint ventures in China by foreign automotive companies such as Volkswagen and Toyota led to the introduction of more affordable models in the Chinese market. Combined with rising income levels across the country, the number of private cars in China has grown rapidly since the 2000s, to the point where traffic-related pollution and congestion have gradually become a major problem in China's major cities.

The rise of electric vehicles In recent years, electric vehicles developed by a number of Chinese automotive companies, including BYD and XPeng, have been gaining ground thanks to the Chinese government's generous incentive policies. As a result, China's EV market has become one of the most competitive in the world. Automotive companies such as BYD, Chery and Geely are also making strong gains in the international market.

In 2022, a survey conducted in 18 different countries asked consumers about the financial accessibility of car ownership. Most of the respondents in the 18 countries believed car ownership to be achievable only through financial sacrifices. Fifteen percent of participants across these 18 countries believed car ownership to be the preserve of wealthier individuals. Out of the 18 countries, 43 percent of Turkish participants believed car ownership to be feasible only for wealthier individuals. China, on the other hand, had the highest rate of respondents who perceived car owership as achievable for everyone.

Germany was the European country with the largest passenger vehicle fleet in 2022 with 48.7 million units. The total number of registered passenger cars in Europe (EU-27) stood at 252.6 million units in 2022. Germany is the largest car market in Europe Germany is Europe’s leading car producer with a production volume of almost 4.1 million units. The strong assembly sector coupled with a large customer base makes Germany the largest automotive market in Europe, recording annual passenger car sales of more than 2.8 million units. The country's autobahns are famous for no-limit sections. However, construction projects and traffic jams are common roadblocks in Germany. Łódź is Europe's most congested city The large number of automobiles on Europe’s streets led to many cities suffering under road congestion. The Polish city of Łódź was the most traffic jam prone metro area, with a 51 percent longer travel time compared to uncongested traffic.

In the past years, car ownership rate in Indonesia has been slightly lower than most of its neighboring countries. According to the survey conducted by Rakuten Insight, about 47 percent of the Indonesian respondents stated to own a car.

In 2023, there were around 0.5 passenger cars per inhabitant in South Korea. This meant that there was a registered car for every two people in the country. The number of cars registered per person first hit the 0.5 mark in 2019, and has stayed at that level for the past few years.

The leading home brand Hyundai Motor Group As of 2022, the top 10 best-selling domestic car models in South Korea were from the Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai Motor, Kia Motor, and Genesis). After Kia Motor was merged into Hyundai during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, both companies have shown strong growth. Hyundai Motor has four factories in South Korea, including its main factory in Ulsan and nine overseas factories.

Domestic mobility services In South Korea, it is common to use public transportation such as buses or subways due to traffic congestion or a lack of parking spaces. In addition, the use of devices such as electric scooters or bikes has increased in recent years. Personal mobility devices (PMD) are frequently used in urban settings like Seoul, and have become a familiar presence on the street. In addition to this, the use of ride-hailing services such as Kakao T and Tada has greatly increased, offering customers further flexibility in their travels.

In Western Europe in the early twentieth century, the rate of car ownership increased rapidly, while ownership across the south and east was significantly lower. Between the First and Second World Wars, the number of cars in the eight largest Western European economies rose from just nine per 1,000 inhabitants in 1914 to 217 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1939. In six select countries across the south and east of Europe, these figures rose from just one to 17. There was a slight decrease in the number of cars over the 1940s due to the impact of the Second World War.

Taiwan has an average car ownership rate compared to the neighboring countries. According to the survey conducted by Rakuten Insight, about 47 percent of the Taiwanese respondents stated they owned a car.

This statistic illustrates the results of a survey, which details the percentage of households in Europe that owned cars in 2015. Italian households showed the highest percentage of car ownership in 2015- at 89 percent, while Ukrainian households displayed the least percentage of car ownership, at 29 percent.

In a survey conducted between April and May 2019, some 44 percent of respondents in the United States said they would trade in their car if viable robo-taxi services were available. This figure compares to about 84 percent in China who would consider giving up car ownership.