- Germany has been the European country that produces the most vehicles (passenger cars and utility vehicles) since 1956, after having supplanted Great Britain, which had been the leader in this industry since 1945. France became the second largest European carmaker in 1969, after having supplanted Great Britain. It remained so until 2009, when Spain overtook it.
- France:
• France began to relocate part of its production from the beginning of the 2000s, first to Spain and Portugal, then to Eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.
• Its production volume gradually declined from 3.5 million vehicles (passenger cars and light utility vehicles) per year to 2.0 million in 2009. Today, it is around 1.5 million vehicles per year.
• If we only take into account passenger cars (PC), production in France has been below one million units since 2020.
- Germany:
• Germany began relocating about a dozen years later than France, first to Spain and Portugal, then to Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.
• Its production volume gradually declined from 6.0 million vehicles (passenger cars + utility vehicles) per year to 3.5 million in 2021. In 2024, this volume rebounded to 4.5 million units, three times more than France.
• If we only consider passenger cars (PC), production in Germany will reach 4 million units in 2024.
- In conclusion, Germany today produces 4 times more passenger cars than France and 3 times more passenger cars + utility vehicles than France.
