All vehicles

Licensed vehicles

Overview

VEH0101: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68ecf5acf159f887526bbd7c/veh0101.ods">Vehicles at the end of the quarter by licence status and body type: Great Britain and United Kingdom (ODS, 99.7 KB)

Detailed breakdowns

VEH0103: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68ecf5abf159f887526bbd7b/veh0103.ods">Licensed vehicles at the end of the year by tax class: Great Britain and United Kingdom (ODS, 23.8 KB)

VEH0105: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68ecf5ac2adc28a81b4acfc8/veh0105.ods">Licensed vehicles at

Data tables containing aggregated information about vehicles in the UK are also available.

How to use CSV files

CSV files can be used either as a spreadsheet (using Microsoft Excel or similar spreadsheet packages) or digitally using software packages and languages (for example, R or Python).

When using as a spreadsheet, there will be no formatting, but the file can still be explored like our publication tables. Due to their size, older software might not be able to open the entire file.

Download data files

Make and model by quarter

df_VEH0120_GB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68ed0c52f159f887526bbda6/df_VEH0120_GB.csv">Vehicles at the end of the quarter by licence status, body type, make, generic model and model: Great Britain (CSV, 59.8 MB)

Scope: All registered vehicles in Great Britain; from 1994 Quarter 4 (end December)

Schema: BodyType, Make, GenModel, Model, Fuel, LicenceStatus, [number of vehicles; 1 column per quarter]

df_VEH0120_UK: <a class="govuk-link" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68ed0c2

Information on motor vehicles that were licensed on 31 December 2015, or which were registered for the first time during October to December 2015.

The statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in the United Kingdom (Great Britain prior to July 2014).

In 2015:

• 3.21 million vehicles were registered for the first time in Great Britain
• a total of 29,963 new ultra-low emission vehicles were registered for the first time in the UK representing 0.9% of all new registrations, compared with 0.5% the previous year

At the end of December 2015, there were:

• 36.5 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain
• the average car licensed for use on the road was 8 years old
  • 21% were less than 3 years old
  • 14% were more than 13 years old

Since the end of 2012, the number of licensed vehicles has increased by an average of 650,000 a year.

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Statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in Great Britain.

During April to June 2012:

• there were 34.6 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain. Of these vehicles, 28.7 million were cars
• the prevailing economic situation has a noticeable influence on trends in the number of licensed vehicles, especially commercial vehicles
• a total of 604.9 thousand vehicles were registered for the first time in Great Britain. This represents a 3.8% increase in the number of first registrations from April to June 2011
• a total of 961 new ultra-low emission vehicles was registered for the first time (in the UK as a whole). The number of cars and quadricycles was 728, up from 366 in April to June 2011. Of these, 473 were cars eligible for the DfT’s Plug-in Vehicle Grant
• average CO2 emissions from new cars fell from 134.7 g/km in January to March 2012 to 133.2 g/km

The most popular car registered for the first time during the first half of 2012 was the Ford Fiesta, with almost 58,000 new registrations. The Vauxhall Corsa was the second most popular with 46,000 registrations, followed by the Ford Focus (43,000), Volkswagen Golf (35,000) and Vauxhall Astra (30,000)

http://charts.dft.gov.uk/statistics/vehicle-licensing/#05">View this data in an interactive chart

Technical information

Information on Vehicle licensing statistics, including the pre-release access list is available.

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Information on motor vehicles in Great Britain that were licensed, or subject to a statutory off-road notification (SORN) on the 31 December 2012, or which were registered for the first time during 2012.

The statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in Great Britain.

A supplement to these statistics along with the January to March release on 13 June (delayed from 16 May as previously announced). This will contain new experimental tables produced by linking DVLA records with the results of MOT testing held by the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency.

In 2012:

• there were 34.5 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Great Britain, of which 28.7 million (83%) were cars.
• the total vehicle stock increased by 0.9%
• 2.47 million vehicles were registered for the first time in Great Britain in 2012, 3.7% up on the previous year.
• the number of newly registered cars powered by diesel has continued to rise, exceeding 1 million for the first time
• average CO2 emissions of cars newly registered fell to 133g/km
• the number of private cars with a female registered keeper has increased by 70% since 1994
• the most common car in Great Britain remained the Ford Focus (1.4 million), followed by the Ford Fiesta (1.3 million)

The Ford Fiesta had most new registrations, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Focus.

Technical information

Information on vehicle licensing statistics, including the pre-release access list can be found on the vehicles guidance page.

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Statistics on motor vehicles that were registered for the first time during April to June 2016.

The statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in the United Kingdom (Great Britain prior to July 2014).

In April to June 2016:

• 805,000 vehicles were registered for the first time in Great Britain
• a total of 9,657 new ultra-low emission vehicles were registered for the first time in the UK
• 37.1 million vehicles were registered for use on the roads in Great Britain

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Information on motor vehicles that were registered for the first time during quarter 2 (April to June) 2015.

The statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in the United Kingdom (Great Britain prior to July 2014).

During April to June 2015:

• 789,000 vehicles were registered for the first time in Great Britain during April to June 2015. This was 9% up on 2014, but still 3% lower than in the peak year of 2003
• a total of 6,527 new ultra-low emission vehicles were registered for the first time (in the UK), up 138% from the same period in 2014
• average CO2 emissions from new cars registered was 122 g/km. This was 3.0% lower than in the same quarter of 2014

At the end of June 2015, there were:

• 36.3 million vehicles registered for use on the roads in Great Britain, up 1.2% on one year previously

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Statistics on motor vehicles that were registered for the first time during July to September 2021 and those that were licensed at the end of September 2021.

Recent trends in new vehicle registrations have been heavily affected by the measures implemented from March 2020 onwards to limit the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

During July to September 2021, there were:

• 542,000 vehicles registered for the first time in Great Britain
• 83,000 ultra low emission vehicles registered for the first time in Great Britain

At the end of September 2021, there were:

• 39.2 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain

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Department for Transport (DfT) business plan

Geographical coverage: United Kingdom

Information broken down by: Data available by local authority on request, published quarterly.

Latest data

In the second quarter of 2015 (April to June), 6,527 new ultra-low emission vehicles were registered for the first time in the UK.

The 6,527 ultra-low emission vehicles registered for the first time in quarter 2 2015 represents an increase of 138% from the figure of 2,746 in the same quarter of the previous year. Most of these vehicles use electric engines, so the Plug-In Car and Plug-In Van Grants introduced by the Department for Transport in January 2011 and February 2012 respectively, and an increase in the supply of electric and plug-in hybrid cars to the UK market will have contributed to this increase. A number of new models came onto the market in 2014.

Background information

The Department for Transport uses the term ‘ultra-low emission vehicles’ to refer to vehicles with significantly lower levels of tailpipe emissions than conventional vehicles. In practice, the term currently refers to electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Vehicles that use non-fossil fuel propulsion have zero tailpipe emissions. For other propulsion types, only vehicles with tailpipe emissions below 75 grams per kilometre are included. The figures are produced from DVLA’s new registration system and only vehicles being registered in Great Britain or Northern Ireland for the first time are included.

There is a high level of seasonal variation in new vehicle registrations (for example higher sales when registration plates change in September and April), therefore it is misleading to compare data for consecutive quarters. Comparisons should be made with the same quarter of previous years

Publishing schedule: quarterly
Last updated: 13 August 2015
Next update: November 2015

Other related data and information

Vehicle statistics

Further information

Business plan 2012 to 2015
Input and impact indicators
Analyst contact: Jeremy Grove, Vehicles statistics, 020 7944 3077