Change in distance travelled by car

  • Sharp decrease in distance travelled by car in 2020 in most countries (-12% at EU level) and slow recovery in 2021 (+3.5%). 
  • Previously, decrease in distance travelled by car between 2000 and 2019 in most countries (around -1,700 km/year at EU level) with a very sharp reduction above 20% in Greece, Italy and Portugal; it had however increased in Poland, Croatia and Slovenia. In Poland, this growth is mainly due to the post-crisis recovery since 2013 (+4%/year). 
  • Large discrepancy of the average annual distance travelled by car between countries: around 14,500 km/year for Ireland in 2021; around 6,900 km/year in Italy, and on average 10,300 km/year for the EU.
  • The distance travelled is around 2,700 km lower at EU level in 2021 than in 2000, with the largest reduction in Italy (around 5,000 km).

Change in distance travelled by car

Change in distance travelled by car for selected countries