The countries with the highest density of luxury cars

Luxury car brands are known to produce some of the best-looking vehicles on the market, with flashy exteriors and plush interiors, offering their owners a smooth and extremely comfortable ride from A to B.

Those lucky enough to drive vehicles from luxury brands such as Porsche, Tesla and Rolls-Royce (to name a few) will know that owning a luxury car has long been seen as a status symbol. But do some countries have more luxury cars on the roads than others?

We’ve looked at the luxury car density in 59 countries around the world, by comparing the last four years of car sales data in each nation with its overall population. From this, we’ve been able to calculate the number of people to every car for each destination, revealing the countries with the highest density of luxury cars.

It’s safe to say that, whether you’re dreaming of buying a luxury car, or you’re lucky enough to already own one, there are a lot of associated costs, from the initial purchase price to ongoing spend such as car insurance, tax and maintenance.

With this in mind, we’ve also looked at the recommended retail price of three luxury vehicles and compared this to the country’s average salary, to see how the cost of owning a luxury vehicle stacks up in different destinations around the world.

The top 25 countries with the highest luxury car density

It appears that the clue is in the name. If you want to visit the world’s luxury car capital, head to Luxembourg. Luxembourg has a population of 625,978 people. With 48,584 luxury cars having been sold in the country between the years of 2016 and 2020, this is the equivalent of just 13 people to every luxury car - the highest density of all the countries we looked at.

Neighbouring country Belgium ranked in second position with 31 people for every luxury car.  Germany followed closely behind in third position with 32 people for every luxury vehicle, and almost 2.6 million luxury cars being sold in the last four years.

The UK ranked in seventh position with over 1.7 million luxury cars having been sold between 2016 and 2020. This equates to 40 people for every luxury car in the UK. However, to put that into context, first-position country Luxembourg has over three times the density of luxury vehicles when compared to population size.

1. Luxembourg

 

Luxembourg ranks in first place as the world’s hotspot for luxury cars. With 48,584 luxury car sales and 625,978 people living in the country, it is estimated that there are 13 people for every luxury car.  With the country being crowned the richest in Europe only six years ago, perhaps this comes as no surprise.

2. Belgium

In second position is Belgium, with 31 people for every luxury car that’s over twice the density of those in Luxembourg. Belgium has seen over 370,800 luxury cars sold between 2016 and 2020.

3. Germany

 

With a population of 83,783,942, Germany has the largest population of the top ten countries. It’s unsurprising then that it also has the highest number of luxury car sales, with almost 2.6 million between 2016 and 2020. This is the equivalent to 32 people for every luxury car in the country.

4. Switzerland 

 

Switzerland ranks in fourth position with 34 people for every luxury car, of which there have been 252,578 in total sales over the four-year period.

5. Norway 

 

With 148,588 luxury car sales in the four year period and a population of over 5.4 million, Norway ranks in fifth position with 36 people for every luxury car.

6. Australia 

 

Our research shows that Australia is the most affordable country to buy a luxury car, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Australia ranks in our top ten countries with the highest density of luxe vehicles. The country is estimated to have 37 people for every luxury car on the road.

7. The UK

 

In seventh spot is the United Kingdom - the second biggest country in the top ten with a population of 67,886,011. With over 1.7 million luxury cars being sold in the UK, there are thought to be 40 people for every luxury car.

8. Austria 

 

Austria ranks in eighth position with 191,608 total sales of luxury vehicles in the past four years. This country has a population of just over 9 million, and our research reveals there will be around 47 people for every luxe vehicle.

9. Sweden

Sweden ranks in ninth place, following closely behind Austria with 48 people per luxury car. Sweden has a population of almost 10.1 million and with over 210,000 sales of luxury cars, it ranks as one of the countries with the highest luxury car density in the world.

10. Canada 

 

Finally, Canada rounds off the top ten countries with the highest luxury car density, with 53 people per luxury car. Canada has a population of over 37.7 million and luxury vehicle sales of 714,877 in the past four years.

Positions 26-59 of the countries with the highest luxury car density 

Ranking in positions 26-59 were some of the biggest countries in the world, including China and Russia. Unsurprisingly, with a population of over 1.4 billion, China had the 2nd highest number of luxury car sales with almost 3.3 million over the four-year period, and is beaten only by the USA with just over 5.17 million. However, as a result of its high population numbers, there are estimated to be around 436 people for every luxury car sold in China, ranking it in 42nd position overall. Russia ranks slightly higher in 39th position, with a population of almost 146 million and 482,737 luxury cars equalling 302 people for every luxury car.

Iraq ranked as the country with the smallest luxury car density of all the countries analysed. With total sales of luxury cars below 2,000 for the four year period and population of over 40 million, it is estimated that there are 21,441 people for every luxury car in the country.

Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil and Kazakhstan make up the five countries with the smallest luxury car densities, each with over 1,700 people for every luxury car.

The top 20 countries where it's most affordable to buy a luxury car

Australia tops the list of countries where it’s most affordable to buy a luxury car, with an average cost of £80,809. The average Australian annual salary is just over £32,000, which is the equivalent to 39.73% of the cost of a luxury car.

Meanwhile, it would take roughly 2.5 years of annual salary in both Australia and Denmark to afford a luxury car, with Denmark following closely behind Australia in second place. The average annual salary in Denmark (£31,306.20) is the equivalent to 39.46% of the cost of a luxury car in the country.

Switzerland, USA and Ireland make up the top five countries where it’s the most affordable to buy a luxury car, based on average salaries. Switzerland has the highest annual salary of all countries analysed, and with a luxury car costing only £160,344 on average, this works out at around 2.9 years’ worth of annual salary to buy a luxury vehicle. Salaries in the USA and Ireland are around £20,000 lower than in Switzerland. However, with luxury cars also costing around £70,000 less, the two countries rank in with similar affordability percentages (33.02% for the US and 28.57% for Ireland).

The UK ranks as the 9th most affordable country for buying a luxury vehicle, with a luxury car in the UK costing £110,407 on average. Compared to the average salary of £23,655, the annual salary is equal to 21.43% of the cost of a luxury car, meaning it would take around 4.7 years of a UK average salary to afford a luxury vehicle.

The top 20 countries where it's least affordable to buy a luxury car 

As well as exploring the countries with the most luxury cars, we also wanted to find out how the cost of a luxury car differed in countries around the world. To find this out, we looked at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of three luxury cars: BMW X7, Porsche 911 Turbo S and the Tesla Model S, by looking at each manufacturer’s site in different countries. We then calculated the average of these three price points in the countries where data was available, to reveal the average cost of a luxury car. This data was unavailable for 11 countries, so we analysed the 48 countries for which we had data.

Our research revealed that it was Vietnam where buying one of these luxury cars is least affordable, costing a whopping £524,620. With annual salaries in the country equalling only £3,924, this equates to just 0.75% of the cost of a luxury car.

Thailand, Colombia, Argentina and Belarus follow and make up the top five least affordable countries for buying a luxury car, all with average annual salaries under £5,000 and the cost of a luxury car costing up to £522,500. 

Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com, comments:

“Many people aspire to drive a luxury car one day - that is, if you’re not already lucky enough to be driving one!

“Often kitted out with top of the range technology and ultra-comfortable interiors these luxury vehicles can be very expensive to buy. As our research shows, the cost of a luxury car can also vary in affordability depending on where you live in the world.

“As well as being expensive to buy, these vehicles are also often costly to run, with the cost of maintaining such cars also being higher than your average vehicle. It’s important to keep this in mind when considering buying a luxury vehicle and remember to compare car insurance quotes, and other maintenance costs to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible.”

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