The European car parc is changing far more slowly than the political debate around electrification might suggest. That is the central message of the latest ‘Vehicles on European Roads‘ report published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

While sales headlines often focus on record EV registrations or sudden dips in demand, the report instead looks at what actually matters for emissions and energy use: the almost 256 million passenger cars already on the road.

In 2024, Europe had 256 million passenger cars in circulation, with an average age of 12.7 years, while battery-electric cars still accounted for only about 2.3 percent of the total fleet, equivalent to roughly six million vehicles.

Across the EU, the total number of passenger cars continues to rise. Growth is modest but persistent, and the average European car is now 12.7 years old. This ageing fleet, ACEA argues, explains why progress on decarbonisation remains gradual despite the rapid electrification of new registrations in some markets.

The ageing of Europe’s car fleet is far from evenly distributed. According to ACEA data, the oldest passenger cars are found mainly in southern and eastern Europe, with Greece and Estonia topping the list at around 17-18 years old on average.

Countries such as Italy and Spain also sit well above the EU mean. At the other end of the spectrum, Luxembourg has the youngest car fleet in Europe, at just over eight years, followed by relatively young fleets in Belgium and Germany.

Slower growth in Belgium

Belgium fits neatly into this broader European picture, but with a few notable twists. The Belgian passenger car fleet passed the six-million mark in 2024, growing by just under 1% compared to the previous year.

That is slower than the EU average and clearly behind the Netherlands, where the car stock is expanding more quickly, but broadly in line with France and Germany.

With 508 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, Belgium remains less car-dense than most of its neighbours; Germany typically records around 591 cars per 1,000 people, while Luxembourg sits even higher at about 670 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, among the highest densities in the EU.

Where Belgium stands out is fleet age. The average Belgian passenger car is 10.1 years old, younger than the EU average and close to Germany’s 10.6 years.

Only Luxembourg, with its high share of company cars and frequent renewal cycles, has a clearly younger car fleet. This relatively faster turnover gives Belgium a structural advantage in emissions performance.

Especially because Belgians drive more kilometers per car per year than drivers in France, Germany, or the Netherlands, even though the EU average annual distance is about 12,350 km per car.

According to the Car-Pass annual report, which aggregates odometer readings for vehicles in the Belgian fleet, the average passenger car in Belgium travelled about 14,220 km in 2024, while the average van covered around 16,540 km over the same period.

5% are BEVs in Belgium

The powertrain mix of the Belgian car fleet reflects this intermediate position. Gasoline cars still dominate, accounting for just over half of all passenger vehicles, while diesel has fallen to around 30 percent.

Battery-electric cars already represent just over five percent of the total stock, with plug-in hybrids adding another five and a half percent.

That puts Belgium ahead of France and Germany in terms of electrified vehicles on the road, but still well behind the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where diesel has largely disappeared from private car fleets.

The contrast becomes sharper when looking beyond passenger cars. Belgium’s role as a logistics hub is clearly visible in the data. While the country has fewer cars per capita than many neighbours, it has a relatively high density of vans, trucks, and buses.

The number of vans continues to grow steadily and, like elsewhere in Europe, they remain almost entirely diesel-powered. Electrification of light commercial vehicles remains barely visible in the existing fleet, despite growing attention to new registrations.

Older trucks

The real weak spot, however, lies in heavy-duty transport. Belgian trucks are on average 13.5 years old, dramatically older than those in neighbouring countries, where average ages hover around nine to ten years.

This suggests that freight renewal in Belgium is lagging behind, with direct implications for emissions, air quality, and road safety. In buses, Belgium sits somewhere in between.

There is a noticeable share of plug-in hybrids, but the penetration of fully electric buses is far lower than in the Netherlands or Luxembourg, where battery-electric models already make up more than one-fifth of the fleet.

‘Needing a pragmatic and achievable pathway’

Against this backdrop, ACEA uses the report to reiterate a familiar message. Legislative targets alone, it argues, are not enough to decarbonise road transport.

According to the industry body, Europe needs a more “pragmatic and achievable pathway”, including better charging infrastructure, stronger purchase incentives, and tax measures to stimulate demand and accelerate fleet renewal.

That argument is not without merit. The data clearly show that replacing old vehicles is crucial if emissions are to fall meaningfully in the real world, and slow renewal cycles remain a major bottleneck.

Shaping public perception?

Yet ACEA’s position also raises uncomfortable questions about the industry’s own role in shaping public perception. While calling for more incentives and infrastructure, manufacturers continue to promote hybrids as a long-term intermediate solution.

This way, they frequently amplify doubts about battery-electric vehicles, from affordability to charging anxiety. This strategy may make short-term commercial sense, but it also risks reinforcing the very hesitations that slow down fleet renewal.

If the ecosystem truly needs to become more attractive to customers, as ACEA claims, then education and clear, consistent messaging should be part of that responsibility as well.

Countering misinformation, clarifying the real-world usability of EVs, and committing more decisively to zero-emission technologies could help rebuild trust and confidence.

Without that, calls for regulatory flexibility risk sounding one-sided: asking policymakers to do more, while the industry itself continues to hedge its bets and, at times, fuel the negative narratives it later complains about.

While carmakers insist that profits from combustion and hybrid vehicles are necessary to fund the transition to electric mobility, this rationale starts to wear thin when it delays clear messaging and perpetuates uncertainty about EVs themselves.