The overall cost of cars imported by all importing countries decreased by an average -5.4% since 2017 when cars purchased on international markets were valued at $757.4 billion.
From 2020 to 2021, the total dollar value for globally imported cars expanded by 9.6%.
The top 5 countries for buying imported cars are the United States of America, Germany, mainland China, France and the United Kingdom. Collectively, that quintet of major buyers of imported cars generated 47.4% of worldwide revenues from imported cars bought during 2021.
From a continental perspective, importers in Europe bought the highest dollar worth of imported cars during 2021 with purchases costing $334.7 billion or 46.7% of the global total. In second place were North American importers at 25.6% while another 19.6% of international spending came from buyers in Asia.
Smaller percentages went to importers in Oceanian countries (3.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand, Africa (2.6%) and Latin America (2.4%) excluding Mexico plus the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for cars (including station wagons) is 8703.
Cars Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of cars during 2021.
- United States: US$148.1 billion (20.7% of imported cars)
- Germany: $66.8 billion (9.3%)
- China: $48.8 billion (6.8%)
- France: $40.2 billion (5.6%)
- United Kingdom: $35.8 billion (5%)
- Belgium: $31.9 billion (4.5%)
- Canada: $27.8 billion (3.9%)
- Italy: $25 billion (3.5%)
- Australia: $17.6 billion (2.5%)
- Spain: $15.3 billion (2.1%)
- South Korea: $12.9 billion (1.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: $11.9 billion (1.7%)
- Netherlands: $11.7 billion (1.6%)
- Japan: $11.6 billion (1.6%)
- Switzerland: $10.4 billion (1.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 72% of all cars imported in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for imported cars from 2020 to 2021 were: Australia (up 36.7%), Canada (up 27.3%), Japan (up 14.2%) and Saudi Arabia (up 12.4%).
The lone decliner was top importer Belgium thanks to its -1.8% year-over-year slowdown.
Cars Imported into the United States
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the United States imported the highest dollar value worth of cars during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Japan: US$33.4 billion (up 1.2% from 2020)
- Mexico: $29.6 billion (down -1%)
- Canada: $25.5 billion (down -13.8%)
- South Korea: $17.8 billion (up 7.3%)
- Germany: $15.3 billion (up 22.1%)
- United Kingdom: $6.9 billion (up 9.1%)
- Slovakia: $3.6 billion (down -6.7%)
- Italy: $3.05 billion (down -7%)
- Sweden: $3 billion (up 21.9%)
- China: $2.1 billion (up 26%)
- Austria: $1.7 billion (up 34.3%)
- Belgium: $1.2 billion (up 7.5%)
- Hungary: $1.1 billion (up 2.7%)
- Finland: $1 billion (up 184.2%)
- South Africa: $782.4 million (up 44.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.6% of cars imported by United States in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cars to United States from 2020 to 2021 were: Finland (up 184.2%), South Africa (up 44.2%), Austria (up 34.3%) and mainland China (up 26%).
There were 4 decliners in terms of the value of cars supplied to American importers, namely Canada (down -13.8%), Italy (down -7%), Slovakia (down -6.7%) and Mexico (down -1%).
Overall, the value of America’s car imports flatlined via an average 1.6% improvement from all supplying countries since 2020 when cars purchases were valued at $145.7 billion.
Cars Imported into Germany
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of cars during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Spain: US$7.7 billion (down -12% from 2020)
- United States of America: $7.4 billion (up 6.6%)
- Slovakia: $6.1 billion (up 12.2%)
- Czech Republic: $6 billion (down -3.3%)
- France: $4.5 billion (up 1.9%)
- Hungary: $4.3 billion (down -0.5%)
- United Kingdom: $3.8 billion (up 28.4%)
- Mexico: $3.6 billion (down -13.3%)
- Italy: $3.4 billion (up 8.6%)
- Belgium: $2.34 billion (up 0.4%)
- South Africa: $2.26 billion (down -13%)
- Japan: $1.9 billion (down -21.1%)
- South Korea: $1.8 billion (up 19.6%)
- Poland: $1.4 billion (down -6.2%)
- Austria: $1.2 billion (up 17.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 83.7% of cars imported by Germany in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cars to Germany from 2020 to 2021 were: Slovenia (up 30.8%), United Kingdom (up 28.4%), South Korea (up 19.6%) and Austria (up 17.5%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their cars supplied to German importers included: Mexico (down -13.3%), South Africa (down -13%), Spain (down -12%) and Poland (down -6.2%).
Overall, the value of Germany’s cars imports flatlined by an average 0.5% increase from all supplying countries since 2020 when cars purchases were valued at $66.4 billion.
Cars Imported into China
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which China imported the highest dollar value worth of cars during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Germany: US$14.9 billion (up 10.3% from 2020)
- United States of America: $10.7 billion (up 25.8%)
- Japan: $8.3 billion (down -18.2%)
- Slovakia: $5.1 billion (down -4.2%)
- United Kingdom: $4.5 billion (up 26.5%)
- Austria: $1.3 billion (up 82.6%)
- Thailand: $1.2 billion (up 11.8%)
- Sweden: $1 billion (up 17.5%)
- Italy: $798.1 million (up 78.6%)
- Hungary: $438.7 million (up 83.1%)
- Netherlands: $166.8 million (up 5.8%)
- Mexico: $126 million (up 0.4%)
- South Korea: $58.6 million (up 476.5%)
- Belgium: $37.3 million (up 227.5%)
- South Africa: $32.1 million (up 631.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9% of cars imported by China in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cars to China from 2020 to 2021 were: South Africa (up 631.9%), South Korea (up 476.5%), Belgium (up 227.5%) and Hungary (up 83.1%).
A pair of top countries experienced declines in the value of their cars supplied to Chinese importers namely Japan (down -18.2%) and Slovakia (down -4.2%).
Overall, the value of China’s cars imports accelerated by an average 8.6% from all supplying countries since 2020 when cars purchases were valued at $44.9 billion.
Cars Imported into France
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of cars during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Spain: US$8.2 billion (up 3.5% from 2020)
- Germany: $6.7 billion (up 9.2%)
- Slovakia: $3 billion (down -4.4%)
- Morocco: $2.1 billion (up 53.4%)
- Turkey: $2.1 billion (down -0.4%)
- Czech Republic: $1.9 billion (up 18.6%)
- Italy: $1.69 billion (up 1.9%)
- United States of America: $1.65 billion (up 96.6%)
- South Korea: $1.54 billion (up 56.5%)
- Japan: $1.51 billion (up 6.3%)
- United Kingdom: $1.48 billion (up 7.9%)
- Romania: $1.1 billion (up 16.2%)
- Hungary: $863.8 million (up 15.7%)
- Slovenia: $790.6 million (down -5.3%)
- Belgium: $763.1 million (down -32.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 83% of cars imported by France in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of cars to France from 2020 to 2021 were: United States of America (up 96.6%), South Korea (up 56.5%), Morocco (up 53.4%) and Czech Republic (up 18.6%).
Four top countries experienced declines in the value of their cars supplied to French importers: Belgium (down -32.4%), Slovenia (down -5.3%), Slovakia (down -4.4%) and Turkey (down -0.4%).
Overall, the value of France’s cars imports expanded by an average 10.1% from all supplying countries since 2020 when cars purchases were valued at $36.6 billion.
Searchable List of Cars Importing Countries in 2021
The 100 countries in the automated database below represent 99% of globally imported cars during 2020.
| Rank | Importer | Car Imports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $148,145,016,000 | +1.6% |
| 2. | Germany | $66,769,186,000 | +0.5% |
| 3. | China | $48,794,815,000 | +8.6% |
| 4. | France | $40,249,928,000 | +10.1% |
| 5. | United Kingdom | $35,774,567,000 | +3% |
| 6. | Belgium | $31,920,253,000 | -1.8% |
| 7. | Canada | $27,818,155,000 | +27.3% |
| 8. | Italy | $25,047,463,000 | +9.1% |
| 9. | Australia | $17,566,302,000 | +36.7% |
| 10. | Spain | $15,340,468,000 | +10.8% |
| 11. | South Korea | $12,933,108,000 | +7.2% |
| 12. | Saudi Arabia | $11,865,032,000 | +12.4% |
| 13. | Netherlands | $11,688,626,000 | +10.6% |
| 14. | Japan | $11,597,256,000 | +14.2% |
| 15. | Switzerland | $10,392,945,000 | +2.8% |
| 16. | Poland | $10,269,867,000 | +16.2% |
| 17. | Sweden | $10,040,394,000 | +19.6% |
| 18. | Austria | $9,355,023,000 | +14.5% |
| 19. | Norway | $8,428,399,000 | +48.4% |
| 20. | Russia | $7,998,689,000 | +47.4% |
| 21. | United Arab Emirates | $7,711,075,000 | -25.3% |
| 22. | Mexico | $7,556,140,000 | +21.2% |
| 23. | Turkey | $6,728,683,000 | -15.1% |
| 24. | Taiwan | $6,211,701,000 | +2.5% |
| 25. | Denmark | $5,710,016,000 | +20.4% |
| 26. | Israel | $5,102,239,000 | +22.4% |
| 27. | Czech Republic | $4,800,080,000 | +27% |
| 28. | Ukraine | $4,386,591,000 | +25.2% |
| 29. | New Zealand | $4,259,632,000 | +74.5% |
| 30. | Portugal | $4,099,463,000 | +6.2% |
| 31. | Chile | $3,788,031,000 | +158.7% |
| 32. | Finland | $3,753,787,000 | +22.4% |
| 33. | Hungary | $3,438,804,000 | +5.3% |
| 34. | Egypt | $3,432,789,000 | +24.7% |
| 35. | South Africa | $3,180,291,000 | +51.3% |
| 36. | Romania | $3,130,843,000 | +34.5% |
| 37. | Brazil | $2,953,554,000 | +67.7% |
| 38. | Vietnam | $2,810,828,000 | +95.1% |
| 39. | Ireland | $2,772,086,000 | +25.5% |
| 40. | Kuwait | $2,562,657,000 | +5.2% |
| 41. | Slovakia | $2,504,501,000 | +13% |
| 42. | Colombia | $2,343,767,000 | +53.1% |
| 43. | Pakistan | $2,287,928,000 | +165.6% |
| 44. | Philippines | $2,275,317,000 | +19.6% |
| 45. | Luxembourg | $2,270,955,000 | +0.2% |
| 46. | Morocco | $2,220,985,000 | +55.6% |
| 47. | Slovenia | $1,977,368,000 | +13.6% |
| 48. | Greece | $1,895,481,000 | +34.1% |
| 49. | Hong Kong, | $1,758,785,000 | +21.2% |
| 50. | Nigeria | $1,754,013,000 | -39.9% |
| 51. | Argentina | $1,694,122,000 | +4.9% |
| 52. | Kazakhstan | $1,647,409,000 | +113.4% |
| 53. | Oman | $1,519,692,000 | -31.7% |
| 54. | Lithuania | $1,490,796,000 | +20.9% |
| 55. | Peru | $1,448,922,000 | +49.4% |
| 56. | Singapore | $1,444,428,000 | +28.8% |
| 57. | Qatar | $1,342,246,000 | +69.4% |
| 58. | Croatia | $1,325,178,000 | +35.6% |
| 59. | Malaysia | $1,305,632,000 | +24.7% |
| 60. | Thailand | $1,272,688,000 | +18.4% |
| 61. | Estonia | $1,255,169,000 | +40.2% |
| 62. | Jordan | $1,209,251,000 | +54.1% |
| 63. | Belarus | $1,207,250,000 | +33.6% |
| 64. | Dominican Republic | $1,191,331,000 | +49.8% |
| 65. | Bulgaria | $1,112,768,000 | +29.6% |
| 66. | Iraq | $959,056,000 | -47.9% |
| 67. | Ecuador | $881,756,000 | +61.3% |
| 68. | Azerbaijan | $780,522,000 | +43.9% |
| 69. | Tunisia | $752,655,000 | +36.4% |
| 70. | Algeria | $742,449,000 | +65.3% |
| 71. | Indonesia | $726,438,000 | +18.8% |
| 72. | Latvia | $693,091,000 | +21.6% |
| 73. | Guatemala | $658,024,000 | +59.7% |
| 74. | Serbia | $641,238,000 | +38.4% |
| 75. | Bahrain | $610,774,000 | -18.6% |
| 76. | Uzbekistan | $588,216,000 | +23.8% |
| 77. | Iceland | $550,474,000 | +61.8% |
| 78. | Bangladesh | $546,138,000 | +63.7% |
| 79. | Lebanon | $532,686,000 | +119.2% |
| 80. | Libya | $527,939,000 | +35% |
| 81. | Cambodia | $509,100,000 | +1.4% |
| 82. | Ethiopia | $505,333,000 | +21.1% |
| 83. | Ghana | $498,001,000 | +0.1% |
| 84. | Kenya | $482,908,000 | +9.1% |
| 85. | Costa Rica | $472,051,000 | +29.9% |
| 86. | Paraguay | $466,060,000 | +13.5% |
| 87. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $465,718,000 | +30.3% |
| 88. | Cyprus | $445,532,000 | -14.5% |
| 89. | Mongolia | $412,850,000 | +38.9% |
| 90. | Panama | $383,107,000 | +3.1% |
| 91. | Bolivia | $369,579,000 | +35.9% |
| 92. | Uruguay | $359,952,000 | +45.2% |
| 93. | Ivory Coast | $353,499,000 | +36.2% |
| 94. | India | $311,626,000 | +78.1% |
| 95. | Jamaica | $259,488,000 | -0.7% |
| 96. | Moldova | $257,559,000 | +52.5% |
| 97. | Honduras | $257,509,000 | +91% |
| 98. | Myanmar | $255,055,000 | -11.8% |
| 99. | Yemen | $254,123,000 | -23.8% |
| 100. | Tanzania | $241,725,000 | +11.9% |
Expanding the scope to the top 100 importers, the fastest-growing importers of cars from 2020 to 2021 are Pakistan (up 165.6%), Chile (up 158.7%), Lebanon (up 119.2%), Kazakhstan (up 113.4%), Vietnam (up 95.1%), Honduras (up 91%) then India (up 78.1%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2020 data is available.
See also Electric Cars Exports by Country, US Exported & Imported Cars by State, Cars Exports by Country and Truck Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 6, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 6, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 6, 2022
