Even if you are able to find another 8GB DIMM, you would be way better off even with only 16GBs RAM. Simply because you would be running dual channel mode. The recommended is obviously to try and get same/similar DIMM to the one you have now. But you can mix and match if you have a BIOS that allows you to adjust RAM timings and have a little patience to find the optimal settings. Finding a speed and timings that work on both modules will give you pretty good stability but won't be perfect. The biggest issue right now is your RAM (bandwidth) bottleneck as modern tech and software are better optimized in utilizing multichannel RAM.
If you do get another memory module your next big bottleneck that is directly linked will be that the game is on a hard drive and not solid state.
The stuttering is caused by it having to load stuff from the slower storage. Increasing buffer sizes in configs/launch options will help a bit (especially after you get more RAM) in super crowded areas but as the game engine wasn't originally designed to handle 100+ players with most running every accessory slot filled with add ons. That all has be loaded on demand. Hence stutter.
I don't know you nor your financial situation but I did see you point out it is expensive. Best bet is just trying to optimize what you have now and make compromise on graphics, amount of add-ons in/on truck, etc. Until you are able to get the upgrades for your PC. Maybe you'll find some sale online or buying 2nd hand, if you are ok with that. I know it isn't the answer you were probably looking for, but I hope this helps somewhat as the rest of your specs are actually very good and should result in smooth game play.
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Mischievous_Vixen's post in ETS 2 Stuttering in high traffic was marked as the answer