How Many Cars Are There in the World?

Compared to the rest of the world, the US is known to be more dependent on cars. Most people have a car that they use to get to work. At the same time, public transportation systems like trains and buses are typically only present in dense cities. So how many cars are in the US? Currently, there are 291 million registered cars in the US. That means there’s a car for every 1.17 people. That’s a lot.

How does the US compare with the rest of the world? How many cars are there in the world?

Analysts have estimated that there are around 1.4 billion vehicles in the world. The number of vehicles rapidly increased during the past few decades. In 1996, there were only 670 million vehicles and about half that in 1976. Vehicle numbers tend to double every 20 years. If the world follows its current trajectory, then we can expect 2.8 billion vehicles on our roads in 2036.

How Many Cars Does the US Have vs. the World?

The US used to have the most cars in the world since it was the first country to widely adopt the automobile. However, this changed when China overtook the US to become the largest car market in 2009.

By 2022, China had 415 million registered vehicles on the road–that’s more than America’s population. However, given China has a population of 1.3 billion people, that means there’s around 1 car for every 3 people. 

The US is a pretty car-dependent country, but it doesn’t have the highest rank in the world when it comes to the number of passenger vehicles per person. Western European countries like Italy, Germany, and Spain have higher vehicle ownership rates per capita than the US. Countries like Italy and Germany have more than 1 car for every 2 people. According to a new paper from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on worldwide car usage, Americans actually have low car ownership rates compared to the rest of the developed world.

In terms of continents, Europe is just behind the Asia-Pacific region in vehicle numbers, with 413 million vehicles. Then comes North America with 358 million vehicles. However, 290 million of these vehicles are in the US. 

After that, South America currently has 84 million vehicles, the Middle East has 50 million, while Africa has 26 million. 

Globally, there’s one car for every 5.75 people, or only 17% of people in the world have a vehicle. However, the car-to-people ratio varies greatly between continents and regions. In Asia, there are only 140 vehicles per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, North America has a significantly higher concentration, with 710 vehicles per 1,000 people. However, these numbers don’t even compare to Africa, which has only 58 vehicles per 1,000 people.  

Vehicle numbers can give you valuable insights into a region’s economy, development, quality of life, and infrastructure. Overall, it’s clear that vehicle numbers across the world are rapidly growing, but vehicle distribution and density can also give you the sense that certain regions are, unfortunately, developing much slower than others.

US Vehicle Ownership by Type

Most registered vehicles in the US are owned by private and commercial entities. In 2023, around 271.8 million were private and commercial vehicles, while the remaining 4 million were publicly owned vehicles. 

US Private and Commercial Ownership By Vehicle Type

Among the 271.8 million registered private and commercial vehicles in the US in 2023, an estimated 103.8 were automobiles, while less than 600,000 were buses. Motorcycles amounted to around 8.3 million, and trucks totaled around 159 million.

How Many Registered Automobiles in the US By State

Among the different US states, California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had the highest number of registered vehicles based on the Department of Transportation’s highway statistics from 2022. This is likely due to either their high state populations or limited public transit options.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Vermont, Alaska, and Rhode Island recorded the fewest registered vehicles. Relative to the rest of the country, they have reliable public transit systems, so fewer people are inclined to buy cars.

Here’s a table summarizing the top 10 states with the highest number of registered vehicles and the bottom 10 states with the fewest registered vehicles in the US:

What Is the Most Common Vehicle in the US?

As of June 2022, the crossover SUV comprised around 45% of US auto sales, making it the preferred personal vehicle for many. Popular SUV models include the Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav-4, and the Nissan Rouge.