Number of cars in the ten most-developed EU countries 1949-1979

Between 1949 and 1979, the number of cars in the ten most-developed EU* countries increased from 190,000 to 2.88 million. This growth was not at the expense of other industries; however, as metropolitan areas saw the expansion of bus and metro networks, inter-city railway networks were extended, and the emerging tourism industry saw a boom in aviation. Nonetheless, the car became the prime mode of transport in Europe in these decades; in 1965, Europeans traveled approximately 979 billion kilometers by car, and this more than doubled to 1,986 billion over the following decade.