Specific consumption of new thermal cars by country

  • The average specific consumption of new thermal cars was between 5 and 6 l/100km in almost all EU countries in 2023, with Ireland, France, Greece, Malta and Portugal in the lower range (around 5.2 l/100km) and Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Luxembourg and Estonia in the higher range (above 6 l/100km).
  • At EU level, new thermal cars consumed 1.1 l/100km less in 2023 than in 2010 (5.6 l/100km compared to 6.7 l/100km), corresponding to average decrease of 1.4%/year.
  • The specific consumption of new cars decreased by 2.7%/year between 2010 and 2016 at EU level, as a result of EU regulations (labeling and standards), national fiscal incentives and rising fuel prices.

Specific consumption of new thermal cars (2023)

Trends in specific consumption of new thermal cars

  • However, since 2016, the trend has changed: it grew by 2.5%/year on average from 2016 to 2019 and then decreased sharply by 4.2%/year from 2019 to 2021. It remained stable in 2022 and 2023, resulting in a stable specific consumption over 2016-2023 at EU level. It can be explained by a larger share of SUVs in new cars sales (around 50% of sales in 2023, with higher specific consumptions) and also a higher share of gasoline cars, which specific consumption is higher than diesel cars.

Long term specific consumption trends of new thermal cars