Despite daunting development budgets, defects in cars still get revealed only after thousands of examples encounter the real world, away from the development tracks and computer simulations.

The EU has an agency called the Rapid Exchange of Information System, which seeks to flag up safety risks for all products on sale in the EU, including cars. This leads to cars being recalled to have remedial work carried out, almost always at the cost of the original manufacturer, not the consumer.

The website car-recalls.eu specialises in deciphering the data from the system – and it has just compiled a list of the most recalled car brands in Europe for 2020. Now clearly the companies with larger model ranges tend to have the most recalls, so please bear that in mind when viewing the data. Looking at 30 car brands in total, we start at the brand with the fewest recalls in 2020, and work our way up to the car brand with the most recalls in Europe over the past 12 months.

Editor’s note: Due to the extent of defects with certain models, not all affected cars have been named. Follow the link on the last slide to get a full rundown of all defects affecting all models and for how to find out about recalls affecting your car