Every year, millions of old vehicles disappear from the European Union through obscure channels.

Omissions

• The claim uses the vague term 'millions' without specifying a precise figure. Estimates from authoritative sources range from 3.4 to 4.7 million vehicles per year whose fate is unknown.
• The most rigorous study on this topic — the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) study — dates from 2020. More recent secondary sources (2025) continue to cite figures in the same range, suggesting the phenomenon persists at similar scale.
• These figures represent the gap between total vehicle deregistrations in the EU and the number of end-of-life vehicles officially reported as treated in authorised facilities. The 'disappearing' vehicles are not necessarily all illegal exports — some may be stored indefinitely, abandoned, or dismantled informally within the EU.

Sources

• PrimaryGerman Environment Agency / Umweltbundesamt (UBA)6 million end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are disposed of in the EU each year according to Eurostat statistics. However, annually, the fate of an additional 3.4 to 4.7 million end-of-life vehicles remains unknown.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Audiovisual Service3.5 million go outside Europe. They're shipped there to be recycled... Between 70 and 90% of end of life vehicles disappear in undocumented circuits.
• SecondaryAPA EngineeringEach year in the EU, 3–4 million vehicles disappear from official records after deregistration. Authorities often do not know whether these vehicles are exported, dismantled illegally or simply abandoned.
• SecondaryIEU MonitoringAround 3.5 million vehicles disappear without a trace from EU roads each year – and are exported, dismantled or disposed of illegally.