10.8 million cars were produced in the European Union last year, more than 3 million below the total of 2019, the year before the pandemic. Romania ranked sixth, ahead of Italy and Hungary, our country being the only one in the top 10 where production increased compared to 2019. Given that production in Russia decreased by 67%, Romania was over the number of cars produced, according to the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA).
14.1 million cars were produced in the EU in 2019, 10 million in 2021 and 10.76 million last year. The largest producing country is Germany with 3.33 million units, followed by Spain with 1.7 million and the Czech Republic with 1.19 million cars.
Slovakia came fourth, with almost 970,000, France – fifth, and Romania – sixth, with a record 507,000 cars. Italy and Hungary passed 400,000 cars, and Sweden and Belgium rounded out the top 10, each with around 250,000 units.
In 2019, Romania was in eighth place, but since then production has fallen by around 20% in Italy and Hungary. In nine of the top ten countries, production decreased compared to 2019, with the exception of Romania, where there was an increase, mainly due to the Ford plant, which in 2022 reached record volumes.
Compared to 2019, the largest decline in production in 2022 was in Germany, over 1.1 million units – and in France – over 650,000 units. Under these conditions, France surpassed Slovakia, although in 2019 the Hexagon had over half a million cars across the country with its capital in Bratislava.
In Russia, total production was 437,000 units, up from 1.34 million in 2021 due to the effects of the war started by Russia. Ukraine had little car production, the total falling from 7,300 to 1,500 cars.
Car production in the United Kingdom fell last year by 10% from 2021 to 764,000 cars, while Turkey increased production to 791,000 cars.