Europe's automotive sector accounts for more than 13 million jobs.

Omissions

• The 13 million figure is based on a BROAD definition that includes indirect jobs (fuel, chemicals, sales, repair and maintenance, etc.), not only manufacturing jobs; direct motor-vehicle manufacturing jobs are far fewer (ACEA cites 2.4 million; Eurofound's narrower measure of core automotive subsectors based on EU Labour Force Survey Q3 2024 data gives about 3.12 million).
• The 13 million figure has been a stable, long-standing industry statistic and ACEA is the original publisher of this estimate; the exact reference year of the underlying employment data is not specified on ACEA's page.
• ACEA is an industry association; although its figure is widely used by the European Commission and in parliamentary debates, it is not a Eurostat national-accounts statistic.

Sources

• PrimaryACEA — Employment in EU automotive sectorThe latest figures on EU employment show that the automotive sector provides jobs for 13 million Europeans, accounting for 7% of total EU employment.
• PrimaryACEA — Automotive sector: direct and indirect employment in the EUThe automotive industry provides direct and indirect jobs for 13.2 million Europeans, including 2.4 million manufacturing jobs.
• PrimaryEurofound — Employment in the EU's automotive sectorThe latest EU Labour Force Survey data (EU-LFS) (Q3 2024) relating to the core subsectors show that there are 3.12 million jobs in motor vehicle manufacturing; with an estimated 6.72 million workers, these core elements of the automotive sector accounted for 3% of EU employment in Q3 2024.