When asked about "Car by type", most UK respondents pick "Compact car (e.g., Volkswagen Golf, BMW 1 Series)" as an answer. 27 percent did so in our online survey in 2024. Looking to gain valuable insights about car owners across the globe? Check out our

In 2022, around 1.94 million motor vehicles were sold in the United Kingdom, down from its peak at around 3.1 million units in 2016. This figure represents a decrease of 5.1 percent year-on-year. Sales recovery does not match 2019 levels In 2022, the UK overtook France as the second-largest car market in Europe, a position it had lost since 2019. New passenger car registrations had grown in the country in 2023, up to the highest volume recorded since their dramatic drop in 2020. However, amid Brexit, the automotive semiconductor shortage, raw material price inflation, and an overall cost of living crisis, the UK's automotive industry has faced various challenges and has yet to reach its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level. The impact of inflation on car purchases The United Kingdom recorded its highest inflation rate since the 1990s in 2022, a situation which marginally improved in 2023. New cars were particularly impacted by the inflation, with their consumer price index being at its highest in the past fifteen years in 2023. Despite the inflating prices, car purchasing intentions remained relatively stable based on surveys ending in September 2023 and September 2024, with around half of UK residents reporting their intention of buying a car in the 12 months following the survey. This is, however, a positive development compared to purchase intentions reported in that same survey ending in September 2022.

There were around 33.2 million passenger cars in operation in the United Kingdom in 2022. UK roads have become busier since experiencing the most significant decline in the aftermath of the 2008-09 financial crisis. It remains to be seen whether the coronavirus crisis will cause a similar dent in the graph.

Car ownership per household

The majority of car owners in the UK have one car available to them. As of 2018, 53 percent of motorists had one vehicle in their household. Only one percent of respondents owned five cars or more.

Road safety The number of car drivers involved in reported road accidents in Great Britain fell to a record-low of just under 160,000 in 2019. The age group of under 16 year olds witnessed a sharp drop in the number of traffic-related fatalities in 2019. That said, all other age groups reported an increase in fatalities between 2018 and 2019.

Key information about United Kingdom Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars

• United Kingdom Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars was reported at 1,903,054.000 Unit in Dec 2023.
• This records an increase from the previous number of 1,614,063.000 Unit for Dec 2022.
• UK Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars data is updated yearly, averaging 2,264,737.000 Unit from Dec 2005 to 2023, with 19 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,692,786.000 Unit in 2016 and a record low of 1,614,063.000 Unit in 2022.
• UK Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Association: Automobile Sector – Table RA.OICA.MVS: Motor Vehicle Sales: by Country and Type: Passenger Car (PC).

Dataset population: Households/Car or Vans

Car or van availability

The number of cars or vans that are owned, or available for use, by one or more members of a household. This includes company cars and vans that are available for private use. It does not include motorbikes or scooters, or any cars or vans belonging to visitors.

Households with 10 to 20 cars or vans were counted as having only 1. Responses indicating a number of cars or vans greater than 20 were treated as invalid and a value was imputed.

The count of cars or vans in an area relates only to households. Cars or vans used by residents of communal establishments were not counted.

When incidents happened, where it took place, the victim’s perception of the incident, and what items were stolen or damaged. Annual data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

This statistic shows a forecast of the share of new connected vehicles on roads in the United Kingdom between 2018 and 2030. Forecasts suggest that 100 percent of all new vehicles registered would be connected by 2026. In 2019, the share of connected vehicles was estimated to amount to 71 percent.

Updated data tables containing impact analysis of the planned improvements to private rental and second-hand car measurement in consumer price statistics.

Car Production in the United Kingdom increased to 82178 Units in February from 78012 Units in January of 2025. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Car Production- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Number of licensed vehicles (in thousands) at year end broken down by type including , cars, motor cycles, light goods, heavy goods, buses an coaches, and Other.

Vehicles are allocated to a local authority according to the postcode of the registered keeper. This is the keeper's address for privately owned vehicles or the company's registered address for company owned vehicles. Significant changes in the number of vehicles from year to year can often occur when a companies with a large number of vehicles change their registered address.

Other vehicles includes rear diggers, lift trucks, rollers, ambulances, Hackney Carriages, three wheelers and agricultural vehicles.

When asked about "Car ownership", 4 percent of UK respondents answer "Yes, a company car". This online survey was conducted in 2024, among 4,032 consumers. Looking to gain valuable insights about car owners across the globe? Check out our

Road Safety Statistics releases [missing hyperlink]

Data download tool [missing hyperlink] for bespoke breakdowns of our data.

These files provide detailed road safety data about the circumstances of personal injury road accidents in GB from 1979, the types of vehicles involved and the consequential casualties. The statistics relate only to personal injury accidents on public roads that are reported to the police, and subsequently recorded, using the STATS19 accident reporting form.

There has been an increasing demand for more up to date information on reported road accidents to be made available to the public, stakeholders and researchers. As a result, the Department for Transport made a dataset covering accidents for the first and second quarters of 2018 in Great Britain available for the first time on data.gov.uk. The data released was an un-validated subset and has been superseded by the full accident dataset for 2018, released after validation for the full year.

All the data variables are coded rather than containing textual strings. The lookup tables are available in the "Additional resources" section towards the bottom of the table.

Please note that the 2015 data were revised on the 29th September 2016. Accident, Vehicle and Casualty data for 2005 - 2009 are available in the time series files under 2014. Data for 1979 - 2004 are available as a single download under 2004 below.

Also includes: Results of breath-test screening data from recently introduced digital breath testing devices, as provided by Police Authorities in England and Wales Results of blood alcohol levels (milligrams / 100 millilitres of blood) provided by matching coroners’ data (provided by Coroners in England and Wales and by Procurators Fiscal in Scotland) with fatality data from the STATS19 police data of road accidents in Great Britain. For cases when the Blood Alcohol Levels for a fatality are "unknown" are a consequence of an unsuccessful match between the two data sets.

Weekly data showing estimated quantity of automotive fuel demand per average transaction in the UK. These are official statistics in development.

EU UK: Number of Motor Vehicles: NR: Passenger Cars data was reported at 234,945.000 Unit in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 192,649.000 Unit for May 2018. EU UK: Number of Motor Vehicles: NR: Passenger Cars data is updated monthly, averaging 162,430.000 Unit from Jan 1990 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 342 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 562,337.000 Unit in Mar 2017 and a record low of 33,051.000 Unit in Jul 1992. EU UK: Number of Motor Vehicles: NR: Passenger Cars data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Association: Automobile Sector – Table EU.TA012: European Automobile Manufacturers Association: No of Motor Vehicle: Newly Registered.