The European automotive industry employs almost 14 million people.

Omissions

• The 13.8 million figure covers direct AND indirect jobs across the entire value chain (manufacturing, sales, maintenance, transport, etc.), not just direct automotive manufacturing employment (about 2.4-2.6 million direct jobs).
• ACEA's more conservative headline figure is '13 million' (7% of EU employment), while the European Commission and Eurofound cite 13.8 million (6.1%); 'almost 14 million' matches the higher, widely used estimate.
• The figure predates the session date (2026-07-07) and is the standard estimate used since at least 2019-2024; the data does not reflect job losses announced in the sector in 2024-2025.
• The claim that the industry's difficulties are due to 'the insistence of the radical left and the Greens' is a political interpretation, not part of the employment statistic.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Single Market and Economy: Automotive industryThe automotive sector provides direct and indirect jobs to 13.8 million Europeans, representing 6.1% of total EU employment. 2.6 million people work in manufacturing…
• SecondaryACEA — Employment in EU automotive sector (figure)The EU automotive sector provides jobs for 13 million Europeans, accounting for 7% of total employment in the European Union.
• SecondaryEurofound — Employment in the EU's automotive sector (2025)13.8 million Europeans, or 6.1% of the total labour force, are employed in the sector at large. The latest EU Labour Force Survey data…
• SecondaryEPRS Think Tank — The crisis facing the EU's automotive industryThe EU automotive industry employs 13.8 million people (directly and indirectly), representing 6.1% of total EU employment.
• SecondaryACEA — Economic and Market Report, Full-year 201913.8 million Europeans work in the auto industry (directly and indirectly), accounting for 6.1% of all EU jobs.