Passenger vehicle ownership by household and country 2014
Car ownership in households
Unsurprisingly, most countries with high car ownership rates in 2014 were regions with advanced economies. Americans were on the top of the list among surveyed countries, with 88 percent reporting to own a car. More common places to find a car included Germany, South Korea, France, Malaysia, and Japan, each with more than an 80 percent car ownership rate. By contrast, Vietnam and Bangladesh had the least passenger vehicles registered, with only two percent of the population reporting to own a car.
In the United States, a great share of people from affluent households reported owning or leasing a vehicle falling into the truck, SUV, and van category, followed by crossover vehicle. Toyota, Honda and Nissan were the best-selling passenger car manufacturers in the country, in terms of sales in 2015.
Two-wheelers, the more economical alternative to a car, were more often seen in South and Southeast Asia, as more than 80 percent of households in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia owned a motorcycle or scooter. Overall, bicycles were more common around the globe than cars. Countries with the most bike owners include Germany, Indonesia, China, and India.