Top European Union exports, by country

The European Union (EU) exports more than $6 trillion worth of products annually, with the bloc having a diversified economy that includes the fuel and minerals, machinery, vaccines and technology industries.

Data from the Economic Complexity Observatory for 2022, taken by visualcapitalist.com, shows that cars and oil dominate EU exports, with Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Sweden and the Netherlands having oil gas or refined oil as the most important export product. For example, the Netherlands exported $68.1 billion worth of refined oil in 2022, ranking third among the largest exporters globally. The country is home to the BP Rotterdam refinery, the largest oil refinery in Europe.

Besides oil, cars (and car parts) contribute significantly to the EU economy. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have automotive products as their top exports. With well-known car brands such as Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche, Germany alone generates around $150 billion a year in car exports.

But other products also help to diversify the EU economy, according to the quoted source. France's top exports are airplanes, helicopters, and/or space shuttles, while Italy and Denmark excel in the packaged medicine industry. Ireland has a significant pharmaceutical industry, home to major companies such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Novartis.

• ACEA: Car sales are growing in Europe

New car registrations in Europe (EU plus UK and EFTA countries) rose by 12% in April 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, following improved demand for electric vehicles, data published last week by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers showed. (THAT). The statistical data are valid for the 27 member states of the European Union, plus Great Britain and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), respectively Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

A number of 1.08 million cars were registered in April in Europe, compared to 965,313 units in the similar period of 2023, notes Agerpres. Sales of battery-powered cars rose 14.8% in April compared to the same period in 2023, and those of hybrid vehicles climbed 33.1%, according to ACEA data. Electrified vehicles - fully electric, plug-in hybrid or full hybrid models - accounted for 47.8% of all new car registrations in April, up from 44.1% the previous year.

In April, the car market in Romania registered a 34.6% increase, with 13,276 cars registered, compared to 9,865 vehicles in the similar period of 2023.

The main European markets reported significant increases in April: Spain (23.1%), Germany (19.8%), France (10.9%), Italy (7.7%) and the UK (1%), show ACEA data.

There are 12.9 million employees in the European automotive sector, and 8.3% of all jobs in the EU industry are in the automotive sector.

New car registrations in Europe increased by 6.5% in the first four months of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, with 4.48 million units registered.

The top five European markets reported significant increases between January and April 2024: Great Britain (8.4%), Spain (7.8%), Germany (7.8%), France (7%) and Italy (6, 1%), according to ACEA.

In the first four months of this year, the car market in Romania registered a decrease of 0.7%, with 46,504 cars registered, compared to 46,831 vehicles in the same period of 2012.