Vehicle scrappage statistics show the scale of end-of-life vehicle treatment, the materials involved and the difference between recycling and broader recovery. The latest EU estimate recorded 4.3 million end-of-life vehicles in 2023, while the European Commission projects additional collection, material recovery and jobs by 2035 under its proposed regulation.
Key Vehicle Scrappage Statistics
The most useful headline figures cover volumes, weight, outcomes and policy projections:
- In 2023, 4.3 million estimated end-of-life vehicles entered treatment in the European Union.
- In 2009, 7.7 million EU end-of-life vehicles marked the peak of the 2008–2023 series.
- From 2022 to 2023, the EU vehicle count fell by 8.6%.
- In 2023, EU end-of-life vehicles represented an estimated 5.0 million tonnes using registration-paper weights.
- In 2009, EU end-of-life vehicle weight peaked at 7.1 million tonnes.
- In 2023, the EU reuse-and-recycling rate was 88.3% of vehicle weight.
- In 2023, 22 EU countries reported reuse-and-recycling rates of at least 85.0%.
- In 2023, eight EU countries reported reuse-and-recycling rates above 90.0%.
- In 2023, Malta reported a 62.8% reuse-and-recycling rate.
- In 2023, the EU reuse-and-recovery rate was 93.7% of vehicle weight.
- In 2019, the EU reuse-and-recovery rate reached 95.0%.
- In 2023, 15 countries reported reuse-and-recovery rates above 95.0% across the EU and reporting EEA area.
- In 2023, Italy reported an 85.8% reuse-and-recovery rate.
- In a historical U.S. estimate cited by the EPA, about 94% of scrapped vehicles were collected and recycled annually.
- The same historical U.S. estimate covered 12,000 scrappage and disassembly locations.
- By 2035, the European Commission projects 3.8 million additional EU end-of-life vehicles collected and treated.
- By 2035, the proposed EU regulation projects 5.4 million tons of materials recycled at higher quality or reused.
- By 2035, the proposed EU regulation projects 22,000 new jobs in the European Union.
Contents
- EU end-of-life vehicle counts and long-term trends
- Vehicle scrappage by weight
- Recycling and reuse rates
- Recovery outcomes and country comparisons
- Scrappage schemes and historical U.S. estimates
- Vehicle scrappage policy outlook through 2035
EU End-of-Life Vehicle Counts and Vehicle Scrappage Trends
Eurostat’s end-of-life vehicle statistics cover passenger cars with up to eight places plus the driver and goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. The annual calendar-year series covers EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and it measures vehicles entering ELV treatment rather than all vehicle deregistrations.
Eurostat, “End-of-life vehicle statistics” reports the following EU count data:
| Period | End-of-life vehicles | Measurement note |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7.7 million | Peak in the 2008–2023 series |
| 2016 | 4.8 million | Annual ELV total |
| 2017 | 5.3 million | Annual ELV total |
| 2018 | 6.1 million | Annual ELV total |
| 2022–2023 | 8.6% decrease | Change in reported or estimated annual totals |
| 2023 | 4.3 million | Estimate including missing-country data estimates |
The 2023 total was 8.6% lower than the 2022 total, but the measurement remains an aggregate that includes estimates where country data were missing. The 2009 peak should therefore be read as the high point of this reported and estimated treatment series, not as a complete count of every vehicle retired from use.
Eurostat also identified short-term governmental scrapping schemes in the EU. Three countries had schemes in 2008, compared with one country in 2010; in 2009, the EU had 7.7 million ELVs while 12 countries operated schemes, although Eurostat does not establish a causal effect for that aggregate association.
Vehicle Scrappage Statistics by Weight
Vehicle counts and vehicle-weight totals answer different questions. Weight data indicate the material flow entering treatment, but Eurostat notes that national data can use operator reports or a metal-content assumption and that alternate treatment-flow totals may differ.
The EU weight series, based on registration-paper weights, shows a high point in 2009 and a later recovery before the 2023 decline:
| Period | ELV weight | Geography and basis |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7.1 million tonnes | EU; registration-paper weights |
| 2010 | 6.1 million tonnes | EU; registration-paper weights |
| 2012 | 5.1 million tonnes | EU; registration-paper weights |
| 2016 | 5.1 million tonnes | EU; registration-paper weights |
| 2017 | 5.7 million tonnes | EU; registration-paper weights |
| 2018 | 6.8 million tonnes | EU; registration-paper weights |
| 2019 | 6.9 million tonnes | EU; highest since 2009 |
| 2022–2023 | 0.5 million tonnes lower | Difference in annual EU totals |
| 2023 | 5.0 million tonnes | Estimate using registration-paper weights |
The 2023 weight total was 0.5 million tonnes below 2022 and 27.0% below 2019. The 2019 total was the highest recorded since 2009, so the latest estimate points to a substantially smaller measured material flow than that pre-2020 high point.
Vehicle Scrappage Recycling and Reuse Rates in Europe
The EU reuse-and-recycling rate was 88.3% of vehicle weight in 2023, above the ELV Directive target of 85% by average vehicle weight, a requirement applying since 2015. This is a weight-based outcome, not the percentage of vehicles successfully recycled.
Eurostat’s 2023 country distribution provides a useful threshold comparison:
| 2023 outcome | Number or rate | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Reuse-and-recycling rate | 88.3% | EU aggregate, vehicle weight |
| Countries at or above 85.0% | 22 | EU countries |
| Countries above 90.0% | 8 | EU countries |
| Malta | 62.8% | Country rate |
| Denmark and Finland | 80.0%–84.9% | Country-rate range |
The aggregate rate was 0.8 percentage points below 2022 and 0.2 percentage points above 2021. Malta’s rate fell 21.1 percentage points from 2022 to 2023, with Eurostat attributing the low result partly to stored materials pending export and materials not reported while stored for export.
The definition matters: Eurostat includes backfilling in recycling under the ELV definition. Country reports can also use different permitted compilation approaches, so a threshold comparison should not be treated as proof that every national material stream was measured identically.
Vehicle Scrappage Recovery Outcomes and Country Comparisons
Reuse-and-recovery is broader than reuse-and-recycling because it includes recycling and energy recovery under the ELV definition. The EU reuse-and-recovery rate was 93.7% in 2023, compared with 85.3% in 2009 and a series peak of 95.0% in 2019.
The 2023 comparison picture was:
- Fifteen countries reported reuse-and-recovery rates above 95.0% across the EU and reporting EEA area.
- Eight countries reported rates between 90.0% and 94.9% in 2023.
- Italy reported an 85.8% reuse-and-recovery rate in 2023.
- The EU aggregate rate fell 0.7 percentage points from 2022 to 2023.
Eurostat, “End-of-life vehicle statistics” also records historical outliers that show why annual rates need context. Poland reported 122.2% in 2019, which Eurostat says reflects treatment of stocks from prior years, while Greece reported 77.2% in 2019, attributed to temporary stocking when scrap prices were low.
Malta reported an 84.1% reuse-and-recovery rate in 2022, before the reporting issues associated with stored materials affected the 2023 comparison. These figures are outcomes for vehicle weight and should not be presented as equivalent to the EU’s reuse-and-recycling target.
Scrappage Schemes and Historical U.S. Vehicle Recycling Estimates
The U.S. figures available here are historical estimates cited in an EPA report, not current national measurements. The report cites 1995 industry data from the 1990s and covers collection, disassembly and material flows.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Indicators of the Environmental Impacts of Transportation, Updated Second Edition” gives these historical estimates:
| Measure | Historical U.S. estimate | Scope and period |
|---|---|---|
| Scrapped vehicles collected and recycled annually | Approximately 94% | 1990s estimate citing 1995 data |
| Scrappage and disassembly locations | 12,000 | 1990s estimate |
| Collected material recycled for raw-material use | At least 75% | Steel, aluminum and copper |
| Collected material sent to landfill | About 25% | Historical estimate |
| Recycled steel | About 11 million short tons | Historical estimate |
| Recycled nonferrous metals | About 800,000 tons | Historical estimate |
| Avoided oil used to manufacture new parts | About 85 million barrels | Historical estimate |
| Scrap vehicle waste in municipal landfill waste | About 1.5% | Historical estimate |
The U.S. estimate also stated that at least 75% of collected material was recycled for raw-material use, while about 25% went to landfill. It estimated about 11 million short tons of recycled steel, 800,000 tons of recycled nonferrous metals and 85 million barrels of oil saved in manufacturing new parts.
These estimates should remain labeled as historical because the EPA source does not provide a current equivalent in the supplied evidence. They are useful for describing the scale of an established vehicle-recycling system, but they should not be combined mathematically with the EU’s newer weight-based rates.
Vehicle Scrappage Policy Outlook Through 2035
The European Commission’s proposed End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation sets out projected impacts rather than observed outcomes. Its figures describe what the policy could deliver by 2035 if the proposed measures achieve the stated impact assumptions.
European Commission, “End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation” projects:
- 3.8 million additional ELVs collected and treated in the EU by 2035.
- 5.4 million tons of materials recycled at higher quality or reused by 2035.
- 350 tons of rare-earth materials collected for reuse and recycling by 2035.
- 12.8 million tons less CO2 emitted by 2035, with the Commission valuing that projected reduction at 2.9 billion euros.
- 22,000 new jobs, including 14,000 jobs for small and medium-sized enterprises, by 2035.
The same Commission page says that more than 800,000 used vehicles are exported from the EU each year, mainly to Africa. That is a used-vehicle export flow, not a confirmed ELV scrappage count.
The policy context also includes material demand. The Commission page reports that the EU automotive industry consumes 42% of the region’s aluminium, 44% of its magnesium and 63% of its platinum-group metals, all cited as 2025 reference figures and not as ELV scrappage rates.
These projections connect collection with materials, emissions and employment, but they are forecasts and estimates rather than measured annual results. The observed 2023 EU figures remain the appropriate baseline for describing current scale, while the 2035 numbers describe the proposed regulation’s expected direction and potential impact.