3.5 million end-of-life vehicles are shipped outside Europe for recycling annually.

Omissions

• The 3.5 million figure from the European Commission refers to the total number of vehicles that 'disappear without a trace' from EU registration systems annually. This includes vehicles that are illegally exported, illegally dismantled, and illegally disposed of — not only those shipped outside Europe for recycling.
• The European Commission's own wording states these vehicles are 'exported, or disposed of illegally,' treating exports and other forms of disappearance as distinct components of the 3.5 million total, not as a single export-only category.
• The claim adds the destination purpose 'for recycling' (um dort recycelt zu werden), which is not specified in the Commission's original statement about what happens to disappeared vehicles.
• Some industry sources estimate illegal ELV exports alone at approximately 4 million per year, suggesting the export component may be large but is not precisely disaggregated in the Commission's 3.5 million figure.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — End-of-life vehicles RegulationΑround 3.5 million vehicles disappear without a trace from EU roads each year – and are exported, or disposed of illegally.
• PrimaryCouncil of the EU — Press Release on ELV Regulation dealAround 3.5 million vehicles disappear without a trace from EU roads each year – and are exported, dismantled or disposed of illegally.
• SecondaryEuractiv / IEU Monitoring — Agreement on end-of-life vehiclesAround 3.5 million vehicles disappear without a trace from EU roads each year – and are exported, dismantled or disposed of illegally.