Vehicle licensing statistics: 2021
Published 24 May 2022
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About this release
We are providing our statistics releases in HTML format and we would like to hear your comments. If you have any feedback on our use of this format or on this release, please contact vehicles statistics.
This release presents statistics on motor vehicles in the United Kingdom (UK), which are based on administrative data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). These cover:
- new vehicle registrations
- licensed vehicles
- plug-in vehicles
- zero emission vehicles
A range of detailed data tables are available online.
These statistics cover the whole of the United Kingdom, which is Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland. However, long term trends can only be looked at for Great Britain, as the United Kingdom data are only available from July 2014.
Changes to this release
We have introduced a number of changes to these statistics to help meet the needs of our users and to provide more detail.
These include:
- major structural changes to the datasets provided
- adding new definitions for road using vehicles and plug-in vehicles
- new data on plug-in vehicles
- providing more comprehensive and consistent breakdowns across all body types
Full details of these changes can be found in the Changes to this release section.
The department is currently working to make our tables accessible for our users.
As part of this release, the format of the spreadsheet tables that accompany this release has changed to make them more accessible for our users.
If you have any feedback on the new format of our tables, please contact vehicles statistics.
Headline figures
Latest figures for 2021, show that the number of new registrations is up 5% in the UK, with a 77% increase in plug-in vehicles. The shift in fuel type used across the vehicle market has led to record highs for electric vehicles on the road and a record low for average CO2 emissions for new cars.
Comparing 2021 with 2020, there were:
- 2.3 million vehicles registered for the first time in 2021 in the UK, up 5% (VEH0150)
- 327,000 plug-in vehicles (PiVs) registered for the first time in 2021 in the UK, up 77% (VEH1153a)
More hybrid electric (HEV) cars (264,000) were registered for the first time in the UK during 2021 than diesel cars (195,000) in the UK, following a 57% increase in HEV cars compared to 2020. By contrast, over the same period there were falls of 10% and 36% for petrol and diesel cars respectively. (VEH1153a)
Average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time in the UK decreased by 11% in 2021 compared to 2020. (VEH0156)
At the end of December 2021, there were 40.3 million licensed vehicles in the UK, an increase of 1.2% compared to the end of December 2020. (VEH0101a)
Key measures and vehicle groupings
Vehicles registered for the first time - vehicles that were first registered with DVLA during that time. This is very similar to ‘new sales’ but also includes imported vehicles or those used beforehand. This is sometimes called new registrations.
Licensed vehicles - all vehicles that can legally use the road. This is sometimes called total stock.
Road using vehicles - vehicles that would reasonably be expected to make significant use of the public highway and to be used as a mode of transport, either for passengers or goods.
Plug-in vehicles (PiVs) - road using vehicles that use a plug-in technology to connect to a source of electricity
Ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) - road using vehicles that are reported to emit less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the tailpipe for every kilometre travelled.
Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)
The government’s measures to limit the impact and transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have affected the trends in these figures since March 2020. New vehicle registrations are also heavily affected by the economy.
Data covering 2020 onwards will not only show the effects of these measures, but also the wider impacts on the global economy. There have been worldwide, ongoing issues in the semi-conductor supply chain that are impacting the automotive sector, which has affected the production of new vehicles and consequently new registrations.
New vehicle registrations: overview
There were 2.3 million vehicles registered for the first time in the UK in 2021. This was a 5% increase compared to 2020 but a 23% decrease compared to 2019. (VEH0150)
Chart 1 shows the long term trends in new registration for Great Britain. The number of annual new vehicle registrations gradually rose from 0.7 million in 1954 to 2.0 million in 1980, then has fluctuated annually between 1.9 and 3.3 million, with lows corresponding to recessions. Usually, after each low, the number steadily increases until the next recession. The highest ever peak occurred in 2016 with 3.3 million new registrations. (VEH0153)
Although the number of new registrations can vary considerably each year, the total licensed stock varies much more slowly since there are many more vehicles that remain licensed over the year.
Chart 1: Vehicles registered for the first time, Great Britain, 1954 to 2021 (VEH0153)
The majority of new registrations are cars. The full breakdown of body type is presented in Table 1. New registrations of each body type in 2021, except for buses and coaches, saw an increase compared to 2020.
Table 1: Vehicles registered for the first time by body type, United Kingdom, 2020 and 2021 (VEH0150)
| Body type | 2021: New registrations (thousands) | 2020: New registrations (thousands) | New registrations (year on year percentage change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | 1,677 | 1,656 | +1.3% |
| Light goods vehicles (LGVs) | 364 | 302 | +20.8% |
| Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) | 43 | 38 | +14.3% |
| Motorcycles | 127 | 115 | +10.0% |
| Buses and coaches | 5 | 5 | -12.9% |
| Other vehicles | 53 | 46 | +15.6% |
| Total | 2,268 | 2,161 | +4.9% |
Monthly seasonality
When DVLA issues a new registration plate series, there is usually a peak in new vehicle registrations. For example, the latest issue was the ‘22’ plate for vehicles registered from March 2022.
Up to 1998, new registration plates were issued once a year in August.
Since 1999, new plates have been issued twice a year, in March and September.
The monthly distribution for new registrations in 2021 is shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Vehicles registered for the first time by month, United Kingdom, 2021 (VEH0150)
| Date | New registrations (thousands) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2021 | 128 |
| Feb 2021 | 83 |
| Mar 2021 | 371 |
| Apr 2021 | 196 |
| May 2021 | 210 |
| Jun 2021 | 246 |
| Jul 2021 | 172 |
| Aug 2021 | 107 |
| Sep 2021 | 274 |
| Oct 2021 | 156 |
| Nov 2021 | 170 |
| Dec 2021 | 155 |
Comparison with the EU car market
The ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) produce new registration figures collected from trade bodies across Europe, covering the EU, the UK and the EFTA (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland).
UK data is provided by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which represents new car sales rather than new registrations with DVLA, so although the figures will be broadly comparable, they will not match.
In 2021, according to figures produced by ACEA, new car registrations in the UK increased by 1.0%, whereas EU new car registrations declined by 2.4%. ACEA’s commentary on the EU was as follows:
Overall in 2021, sales of new cars in the EU fell by 2.4% to 9.7 million units, despite the record low base of comparison of 2020. This fall was the result of the semiconductor shortage that negatively impacted car production throughout the year.
Looking at the full year for the four major EU markets, only Germany posted a decline (-10.1%) in 2021. By contrast, Italy saw the highest increase (+5.5%), followed by Spain (+1.0%) and France (+0.5%) with modest growth.
Source: ACEA, January 2022.
New car registrations by fuel type
Figure 1 shows how the main fuel types used in the UK are related.
Figure 1: Diagram showing key properties of the main fuel types
In 2021, new car registrations in the UK (VEH1153a), comprised of:
- 912,000 (54%) petrol cars
- 264,000 (16%) HEV cars
- 195,000 (12%) diesel cars
- 190,000 (11%) BEV cars
- 114,000 (7%) PHEV cars
- 2,000 (0.1%) using other fuel types
Chart 2: Cars registered for the first time by fuel type, including annual and five year change, United Kingdom, 2021 (VEH1153a)
Compared to 2020, the number of new car registrations with the fuel type:
- petrol decreased by 10%
- diesel decreased by 36%
- HEV increased by 57%
- PHEV increased by 70%
- BEV increased by 76%
Looking at the trends over 5 years, compared to 2016, the number of new car registrations with the fuel type:
- petrol decreased by 32%
- diesel decreased by 85%
- HEV increased by 411% (around 5 times higher)
- PHEV increased by 329% (around 4 times higher)
- BEV increased by 1726% (around 18 times higher)
Chart 3: Cars registered for the first time by fuel type, Great Britain, 2001 to 2021 (VEH1153a)
Between 2001 and 2011, the number of annual new diesel car registrations increased by 108%, more than doubling from 461,000 and 959,000 cars. By contrast, over the same period, new petrol car registrations fell by 56%, from 2.12 million to 0.92 million cars.
The number of new registrations of petrol and diesel cars broadly tracked each other between 2011 and 2016, although during the period from 2011 to 2014, more diesel cars than petrol cars were registered for the first time in Great Britain.
Diesel car registrations have been falling in recent years since peaking in 2016. Over the 5 year period since that peak (from 2016 to 2021), new diesel car registrations fell 85%. During this period, the number of cars using other fuel types sharply increased to a combined total of 561,000 cars, accounting for over a third (34%) of new registrations in 2021.
New electric vehicle registrations
Related statistics on Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
The department publishes statistics on electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including publicly available devices and grants provided by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV).
Plug-in vehicles
In 2021, 327,000 plug-in vehicles (PiVs) were registered for the first time in the UK, an increase of 77% on 2020 and 303% on 2019 (around 4 times higher). PiVs accounted for 14.7% of all UK new vehicle registrations in 2021, up from 8.7% in 2020. (VEH1153a)
Comparing plug-in vehicle and ultra low emission vehicle statistics
There is considerable overlap between ULEVs and PiVs, since many ULEVs are based on plug-in technology. This means that although both measures are very similar at present, care should be taken when choosing which statistic is appropriate to use.
Chart 4 shows the number of new PiV registrations increasing every year since 2015. Between 2015 and 2018, the majority of new PiV registrations were PHEVs, accounting for between 57% and 66% of all new annual PiV registrations. Since 2019, BEVs have accounted for the majority of new PiV registrations. In 2021, BEVs accounted for 64% of new PiV registrations, with PHEVs accounting for 35%. Range extended electric vehicles (REEVs) represented less than 1% of new PiV registrations in 2021.
Chart 4: Plug-in vehicles (PiVs) registered for the first time by fuel type, United Kingdom, 2015 to 2021 (VEH0181a)
Table 3: Plug-in vehicles (PiVs) registered for the first time by body type, with previous year and total new registrations comparison, United Kingdom, 2021 (VEH0181a and VEH0150)
| Body type | 2021: New registrations | 2020: New registrations | New registrations (year on year percentage change) | 2021: Proportion of all new registrations that are PiV (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | 304,649 | 175,025 | +74% | 18.2% |
| Light goods vehicles | 14,244 | 6,271 | +127% | 3.9% |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 145 | 16 | +806% | 0.3% |
| Motorcycles | 5,855 | 2,388 | +145% | 4.6% |
| Buses and coaches | 505 | 301 | +68% | 11.1% |
| Other vehicles | 1,258 | 1,042 | +21% | 2.4% |
| Total | 326,656 | 185,043 | +77% | 14.4% |
Common plug-in generic models
Generic model is a grouping of models to help compare models on the road. Manufacturers vary in their approach on how many model versions they give a particular range of vehicles. For example, there are 3 model versions for Tesla Model 3, but there are over 800 model versions for Ford Fiesta.
Additional data on generic models of electric vehicles has been made available in this release.
For the year ending December 2021, the most common generic model of plug-in vehicle registered for the first time in the UK was Tesla Model 3 with 35,000 vehicles, followed by Kia Niro with 15,000 vehicles and BMW 3 Series with 11,000. Chart 5 shows the top 25 generic models for the year ending December 2021, which accounted for 59% of all new PiV registrations. (VEH0181b)
Chart 5: Top 25 generic models for plug-in vehicles (PiVs) registered for the first time by fuel type, United Kingdom, January 2021 to December 2021 (VEH0181b)
Low emission vehicles
Change in ULEV definition
In these statistics, ULEVs are defined as vehicles that are reported to emit less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the tailpipe for every kilometre travelled.
From April 2020, the reported CO2 emission figures for cars registered for the first time switched from e-NEDC to WLTP (see following section for full explanation of this change).
Consequently, a small number of model variants are now above the threshold and are no longer recorded as ULEVs in these statistics, whilst a smaller number are now under the threshold so are now considered to be ULEVs.
In 2021, 321,000 ULEVs were registered for the first time in the UK, an increase of 77% on 2020 and 299% on 2019 (around 4 times higher). ULEVs accounted for 14.2% of all UK new vehicle registrations in 2021, up from 8.4% in 2020. (VEH0171a and VEH0150)
Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) are a sub-set of ultra low emission vehicles, currently only including:
- battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
- fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs, sometimes referred to as hydrogen powered)
In 2021, 210,000 ZEVs were registered for the first time in the UK, with the vast majority (~100%) being BEVs and only 63 being FCEVs.
Carbon emissions for new vehicle registrations
Average CO2 emissions for cars
Methods used to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
New European Driving Cycle (NEDC): Original laboratory test based on theoretical behaviour.
Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP): More advanced laboratory test to replace NEDC, which is designed to be more representative of real-world driving emissions.
e-NEDC figure: Calculated using a WLTP test via the CO2MPAS tool developed by the European Commission, for tax and emissions monitoring purposes (can be referred to as NEDC correlated). This is not directly comparable with an NEDC figure as their underlying methodologies are different.
In the UK, the average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time in 2021 was 119.8 grams per kilometre (g/km) using the WLTP measure, down 11.2% compared with 2020. (VEH0156). There has been a notable shift towards registering new zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) from late 2020 onwards, which has contributed to the recent reduction.
The transition from using NEDC to WLTP as the official measurement procedure used to determine car CO2 emissions has complicated the interpretation of recent trends. This has caused a number of discontinuities to the time series for reported emissions from September 2018 onwards. Table 4 summarises the changes in testing systems used over time.
Table 4: The use of different testing systems for average reported CO2 emissions of new cars, United Kingdom
| Time Period (inclusive) | Testing system used | Reported figure at point of first registration |
|---|---|---|
| March 2001 to August 2018 | NEDC | NEDC |
| September 2018 to December 2018 | NEDC and WLTP | NEDC and e-NEDC |
| January 2019 to March 2020 | WLTP | e-NEDC |
| April 2020 onwards | WLTP | WLTP |
Chart 6: Average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time by emissions data source, quarterly, United Kingdom, 2017 Quarter 4 (October to December) to 2021 Quarter 4 (October to December) (VEH0156)
Average reported CO2 emissions were increasing steadily from mid-2016 up to the transition period and were only measured using a NEDC figure. From September 2018 onwards, cars tested under NEDC could only be registered with agreement from the European Commission, to avoid manufacturers being left with new cars that were illegal to sell. The reported figure became the WLTP figure for cars registered from April 2020.
Once WLTP testing was introduced, cars registered for the first time quickly transitioned to being registered with an e-NEDC figure. Whilst initially higher than the NEDC trend would suggest, the e-NEDC figure started to decline from September 2019 onwards. This figure was used to assess manufacturers against emissions regulations for registrations up until the end of 2020.
The WLTP figure trend mirrors that of the e-NEDC figure, although it is approximately 20% higher. From January 2021, this has been the only mandatory reported measure for new cars.
Average emissions by fuel type
Using the WLTP measure, the average CO2 emissions for new car registrations in 2021 from different fuel types (VEH0156) were as follows:
- petrol cars had emissions of 143.9 g/km, down 3% compared to 2020
- diesel cars had emissions of 160.9 g/km, down 2% compared to 2020
- hybrid electric (petrol) cars had emissions of 126.4 g/km, up 1% compared to 2020
- plug-in hybrid electric (petrol) cars had emissions of 39.0 g/km, down 8% compared to 2020
Chart 7: Average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time by selected fuel type, measured using WLTP, United Kingdom, 2018 Quarter 4 (October to December) to 2021 Quarter 4 (October to December) (VEH0156)
Vehicle Excise Duty bands for cars
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is charged on vehicles registered in the UK.
Since March 2001, car VED has been charged in bands based on their CO2 emissions (NEDC). These bands were revised from April 2017.
From April 2020, the emissions measure used to allocate a VED band was changed to use WLTP figures. The bands themselves were not altered.
There is a discontinuity in the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) band distribution from April 2020 onwards. This was due to:
- changes in registration patterns during the coronavirus pandemic
- the adoption of WLTP as the reported CO2 figure for cars
There has also been strong growth in the registration of new zero emission vehicles (ZEVs).
The adoption of WLTP led to a step-change decline in the proportion of new cars with reported emissions between 76 to 130 g/km, with corresponding increases for those reported with 131+ g/km, as shown in Chart 8. This is partially due to the WLTP figure being approximately 20% higher on average than the previously used e-NEDC figure for these cars. This effect has reversed in following quarters with the market shifting towards ultra low emission vehicles and those between 111 to 130 g/km.
Chart 8: Cars registered for the first time by current VED band (measured using reported CO2 emissions), Great Britain, Quarter 4 2011 (October to December) to Quarter 4 2011 (October to December) (VEH0256)
Licensed vehicles: overview
At the end of December 2021, there were 40.3 million licensed vehicles in the UK, a 1.2% increase compared to the end of December 2020. (VEH0101a)
Figures on total licensed vehicles have slower variations compared to vehicles registered for the first time as there are many more vehicles that remain licensed over the year.
What vehicles are included?
These figures only include vehicles that are licensed for use on UK roads, which typically requires paying Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).
Vehicles that are not licensed should typically be given a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). The keeper can then re-license their vehicle at any time. Detailed tables relating to vehicles with a SORN are available.
Recent trends
Compared to the end of December 2019, the number of licensed vehicles has increased by 1.0% in 2021. During each quarter of 2020, there were year-on-year falls for the first time since the 1990s, related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cars make up the majority of licensed vehicles. The number of licensed vehicles by body type in the United Kingdom at the end of December 2021 are presented in Table 5.
At the end of December 2021, there were year on year increases for all body types, with the number of light goods vehicles (LGVs) increasing the most (+4.4%) and cars seeing the smallest increase (+0.6%).
Whilst new registrations increase the number of licensed vehicles, the increase is reduced by vehicles being removed from the licensed stock, either permanently (written off, scrapped, exported), or temporarily when they are given a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). The changes in the number of licensed vehicles and vehicles with a SORN are demonstrated in Table 5.
Buses and coaches were the only body type to see a decrease in the number of vehicles with a SORN, which likely contributed to the 3.0% annual increase in licensed buses and coaches, which have generally been in decline over the past decade.
Table 5: Licensed vehicles by body type, including annual difference in licensed vehicles and vehicles with a SORN, United Kingdom, end of December 2021 (VEH0101)
| Body type | Number of licensed vehicles (thousands) | Licensed vehicles (year on year percentage change) | Annual difference in licensed vehicles (thousands) | Annual difference in vehicles with a SORN (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars | 32,889 | +0.6% | +192 | +39 |
| Light goods vehicles | 4,541 | +4.4% | +193 | +19 |
| Heavy goods vehicles | 529 | +3.8% | +19 | +7 |
| Motorcycles | 1,342 | +3.4% | +44 | +49 |
| Buses and coaches | 146 | +3.0% | +4 | -4 |
| Other vehicles | 828 | +2.7% | +22 | +13 |
| Total | 40,275 | +1.2% | +474 | +122 |
Long term trends
The number of licensed vehicles in Great Britain has increased (year on year) almost every year since World War II. The only declines over this period were in 1991 and 2020, as shown in Chart 9.
Chart 9: Licensed vehicles, Great Britain, end of December 1950 to end of December 2021 (VEH0103)
Since 1996, the number of licensed vehicles has increased by 48%. Chart 10 shows how the long term trends in licensed vehicles has varied by body type. Over the last 25 years, compared to 1996, the number of licensed vehicles by body type has changed as follows:
- cars increased by 43%
- light goods vehicles increased by 103%
- heavy goods vehicles increased by 17%
- motorcycles increased by 78%
- buses and coaches decreased by 11%
Chart 10: Index of licensed vehicles by body type, Great Britain, end of December 1996 to end of December 2021 (VEH0101a)
Vehicle age
At the end of December 2021, the average age of licensed vehicles in the UK (VEH1107) was as follows:
- cars, 8.8 years (up 3 months compared to end December 2020)
- light goods vehicles, 8.6 years (up 2 months compared to end December 2020)
- heavy goods vehicles, 7.6 years (up 2 months compared to end December 2020)
- motorcycles, 15.2 years (up 2 months compared to end December 2020)
- buses and coaches, 11.5 years (up 4 months compared to end December 2020)
The average age of every body type increased over the past year by between 2 and 4 months, reflecting decreases in new registrations and vehicle usage during the coronavirus pandemic.
Chart 11: Licensed vehicles by body type and year of first use (1997 onwards), United Kingdom, end of December 2021 (VEH1111)
Licensed electric vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) on the road
Since the majority of EVs have been registered in the last decade, a low of proportion of these vehicles are no longer roadworthy and consequently there is a close relationship in the statistics between
- total new EV registrations since 2010
- licensed stock of EVs
However, moving forward, the number of licensed EVs will start to grow notably more slowly than the number of new registrations. As at the end of 2021 there were, for example, more than 10,000 plug-in vehicles with a SORN. For this reason, we advise against adding up new registrations as a proxy for vehicles on the road.
Plug-in vehicles
At the end of December 2021, there were 748,000 licensed plug-in vehicles (PiVs) in the UK. This was an increase of 72% compared to 2020, when there were 435,000. (VEH0141a)
Chart 12: Proportion of licensed plug-in vehicles by body type and fuel type, United Kingdom, end of December 2021 (VEH0141a)
As shown in Chart 12, out of the total figure of 748,000:
- 379,000 were BEV cars (51%)
- 312,000 were PHEV cars (42%)
- 28,000 were BEV light goods vehicles (4%)
- 10,000 were REEV cars (1%)
- 9,000 were BEV motorcycles (1%)
- 5,000 were REEV other vehicles (1%)
- 4,000 were other remaining categories (1%)
Ultra low emission vehicles
At the end of December 2021, there were 739,000 licensed ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK. This was an increase of 72% compared to 2020, when there were 431,000.
The majority of ULEVs licensed at the end of 2021 were either BEVs (57%) or PHEVs (40%). A small proportion were range extended electric vehicles (2%), currently only available in a small selection of models.
Car makes and models
Common car makes
In 2021, the top 3 makes for new registrations (Chart 13) were:
- Volkswagen (9.0%)
- Audi (7.1%)
- Ford (7.0%)
For total licensed stock at the end of December 2021 (Chart 14), the top 3 makes were different to new registrations, namely:
- Ford (12.3%)
- Vauxhall (9.2%)
- Volkswagen (8.8%)
Chart 13: Top 10 makes for cars registered for the first time, United Kingdom, 2021 (df_VEH0160)
Chart 14: Top 10 makes for licensed cars, United Kingdom, end of December 2021 (df_VEH0120)
Common car generic models
Generic model is a grouping of models to help compare models on the road. Manufacturers vary in their approach on how many model versions they give a particular range of vehicles. For example, there are currently 3 model versions under Tesla Model 3, but there are over 800 model versions under Ford Fiesta.
Vauxhall Corsa was the most common generic model for new car registrations in 2021, with 41,000 registrations, followed by Tesla Model 3 with 35,000 registrations and Volkswagen Golf with 31,000 registrations (Chart 15). Whilst Ford Fiesta was the most common overall in 2020, it came eleventh in 2021 with 27,000 registrations. (df_VEH0160)
At the end of December 2021, the most common licensed car was Ford Fiesta with 1.49 million licensed, followed by Ford Focus with 1.11 million, and Volkswagen Golf with 1.03 million (Chart 15).
Chart 15: Top ten generic models for cars registered for the first time during 2021 and for those licensed at the end of December 2021, United Kingdom (df_VEH0120 and df_VEH0160)
Vehicle keepership
Registered keeper
Every registered vehicle, unless it is in the process of changing hands, has a registered keeper, whose details are held by DVLA.
Note that the registered keeper of a vehicle is not necessarily the person who uses it, and the vehicle is not always based at the keeper’s contact address. This is particularly true for company or fleet vehicles.
During 2021, 55.3% of cars registered for the first time had a company keeper. However, the proportion of licensed cars at the end of 2020 kept by companies was much lower at only 8.1% (Chart 16). This is due to company-kept cars typically moving to become privately-kept after the car is around three years old.
The proportion of licensed cars with company keepers in Great Britain has remained within the range 8% to 10% since 1994.
Chart 16: Proportion of cars by keepership, comparison of licensed cars at the end of December 2021 and new car registrations in 2021, United Kingdom (VEH1102 and VEH1152)
Over the last 10 years, the number of licensed cars registered to female private keepers increased by 16%, compared with an increase of 10% for those registered to male private keepers.
At the end of December 2021, out of all licensed cars (Chart 17) in Great Britain:
- 50% were registered to male private keepers
- 35% were registered to female private keepers
- 4% were registered to a private keeper of unknown gender
- 8% were registered to company keepers
- 2% were between keepers
Chart 17: Proportion of licensed cars by detailed keepership, Great Britain, end of December 1994 to end of December 2021 (VEH1102)
Plug-in vehicles
The majority of plug-in vehicles (PiVs) are company-kept in the UK (Chart 18). At the end of December 2021, out of all PiVs:
- 55% were company-kept
- 44% were privately-kept
- 2% were between keepers
These proportions were similar when looking by fuel type, a slightly higher proportion (58%) of BEVs were company-kept and a slightly lower proportion (52%) of PHEVs were company-kept.
Chart 18: Proportion of licensed plug-in vehicles (PiVs) that have company keepers by fuel type, including all licensed vehicles for comparison), United Kingdom, end of December 2014 to end of December 2021 (VEH0142 and VEH1102)
Changes to this release
We have introduced a number of changes to these statistics to help meet the needs of our users and to provide more detail.
Road using vehicles
“Road using vehicles” is a new concept introduced in this release of these statistics.
A road using vehicle is one that would reasonably be expected to:
- make significant use of the public highway
- be used as a mode of transport
A number of vehicle types on the DVLA register are electric but rarely used the public highways, so the concept of a “road using vehicle” in these statistics allows users to better interpret data about vehicles on the road.
The vast majority of vehicles on the DVLA database would be considered road using. However, there are a number of exceptions, which include:
- class 3 mobility scooters
- forklifts
- road sweepers
- agricultural and construction vehicles
The full list of exceptions can be found in the notes and definitions.
Previously published statistics on ULEVs have always used this definition to best meet user expectations. For example, there are over 100,000 class 3 mobility scooters that are battery powered, which would otherwise have been defined as ULEVs.
Plug-in vehicles
We’ve introduced a new measure in our figures, which shows the number of plug-in vehicles (PiVs).
Vehicles are a plug-in vehicle if they:
- use a plug-in technology to connect to a source of electricity
- are road using
Current fuel types that count as plug-in vehicles are:
- battery electric (BEV)
- plug-in hybrid electric (petrol or diesel) (PHEV)
- range extended electric (petrol or diesel) (REEV)
The introduction of these new PiV figures allows for a more direct comparison with electric chargepoint infrastructure and general electricity usage.
Figure 2 shows the overlap between common terms used in this release to describe “electric vehicles”, along with some common models found in those categories. Note that the size of the area does not accurately reflect how many vehicles lie within that region.
Figure 2: Venn diagram to show the overlap of the terms plug-in vehicle (PiV), ultra low emission vehicle (ULEV), and zero emission vehicle (ZEV) in relation to electric vehicles
It should be noted there is a slight difference in how the ULEV data is compiled. This difference is due to the removal of administrative errors from the ULEV classifications to maintain their robustness, including:
- incorrect CO2
- incorrect propulsion type
- incorrect make or model
As there is a small difference between the sets of figures on ULEVs and PiVs, we recommend using the PiV statistics for most use cases.
Dataset changes
The department is currently working to make our tables accessible for our users.
As part of this release, the format of the spreadsheet tables that accompany this release has changed to make them more accessible for our users.
If you have any feedback on the new format of our tables, please contact vehicles statistics
Major structural changes have been introduced to the published datasets for the 2021 annual release, including:
- altering the layout of most tables for accessibility reasons
- combining many former tables into singular tables
- adding new tables to meet user needs
- replacing tables with datafiles
- renumbering most tables
The table index for this statistical series has been updated to provide a full map between the old and new numbering systems.
In this release, additional tables have been published. These include:
- new data on plug-in vehicles
- providing more comprehensive and consistent breakdowns across all body types
The new plug-in vehicle tables are:
- VEH0141 - Licensed plug-in vehicles (PiVs) at the end of the quarter by body type and fuel type, including breakdown of generic models
- VEH0142 - Licensed plug-in vehicles (PiVs) at the end of the quarter by fuel type, keepership (private and company) and upper and lower tier local authority
- VEH0181 - Plug-in vehicles (PiVs) registered for the first time by body type and fuel type, including breakdown of generic models
- VEH0182: Plug-in vehicles (PiVs) registered for the first time by region
There were several previously published tables that were nearly identical except for the body type. These tables have been combined into a new VEH11 series, which are outlined in Table 6, covering both Great Britain and the United Kingdom for all available dates.
Table 6: Tables in the new VEH11 series
| Table number | Data type | Brief description | Replaced tables | Update frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEH1102 | Licensed stock | Keepership (private and company) | VEH0202, VEH0402 | Annual |
| VEH1103 | Licensed stock | Fuel type | VEH0203, VEH0303, VEH0403, VEH0503, VEH0603 | Quarterly |
| VEH1104 | Licensed stock | Region | VEH0104, VEH0204, VEH0304, VEH0404, VEH0504, VEH0604 | Quarterly |
| VEH1107 | Licensed stock | Age | VEH0207, VEH0307, VEH0407, VEH0507, VEH0607 | Annual |
| VEH1108 | Licensed stock | Number of keepers by age | VEH0208, VEH0308 | Annual |
| VEH1111 | Licensed stock | Year of first use | VEH0211, VEH0311, VEH0411, VEH0511, VEH0611 | Annual |
| VEH1152 | New registrations | Keepership (private and company) | VEH0252, VEH0452 | Annual |
| VEH1153 | New registrations | Fuel type | VEH0253, VEH0353, VEH0453, VEH0553, VEH0653 | Quarterly |
| VEH1154 | New registrations | Region | VEH0254, VEH0354, VEH0454, VEH0554, VEH0654 | Annual |
Some tables were previously difficult to use due to their size, so we have converted them to datafiles instead. In addition, new data are also included at Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) level in this format. This new output type is structured as a simple CSV text file that is much easier to use digitally. The new datafiles are outlined in Table 7.
Table 7: New datafiles in the VEH series
| Datafile number | Data type | Brief description | Geography | Dates | Replaced tables | Update frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| df_VEH0120 | Licensed and SORN stock | Make and model by quarter | GB and UK | All | VEH0120, VEH0121, VEH0128, VEH0129 | Quarterly |
| df_VEH0124 | Licensed and SORN stock | Make and model by age | UK | 2021 only | VEH0124, VEH0125, VEH0126, VEH0127 | Annual |
| df_VEH0220 | Licensed and SORN stock | Make and model by engine size | UK | 2021 only | VEH0220, VEH0221 | Annual |
| df_VEH0270 | New registrations | Make and model by engine size | UK | 2021 only | New | Annual |
| df_VEH0160 | New registrations | Make and model by quarter | GB and UK | All | VEH0160, VEH0161 | Quarterly |
| df_VEH0125 | Licensed and SORN stock | Body type by LSOA | LSOA | All | New | Quarterly |
| df_VEH0135 | Licensed ULEV stock | Fuel type by LSOA | LSOA | All | New | Quarterly |
| df_VEH0145 | Licensed plug-in stock | Fuel type by LSOA | LSOA | All | New | Quarterly |
We would welcome any feedback on the structure of our new tables, please contact vehicles statistics.
Tables not made accessible in this release
It has not been possible to convert all previously published tables to an accessible format in this release. Some of these tables are planned for review, subject to user comments, whilst others are to be withdrawn due to their replacement by alternatives.
This will be the last planned update for the tables outlined in Table 8.
Table 8: Tables in the VEH series marked for withdrawal
| Table number(s) | Reason for withdrawal |
|---|---|
| VEH0130, VEH0170 | Temporarily withdrawn whilst a new methodology is introduced that covers the plug-in grant status for all body types |
| VEH0131 | New table VEH0142 is a better source of information for this topic |
| VEH0205, VEH0305 | New datafile df_VEH0220 is a better source of information for this topic |
| VEH0255, VEH0355 | New datafile df_VEH0270 is a better source of information for this topic |
We believe the tables outlined in Table 9 have limited value and should be reviewed.
Table 9: Tables in the VEH series marked for review
| Table number(s) | Reason for review |
|---|---|
| VEH0103, VEH0153 | Data are provided only a limited breakdown of tax classes |
| VEH0111 | Data are not considered robust and interpretation is uncertain |
| VEH0122, VEH0123, VEH0134 | Postcode district is not an ideal geography to perform analysis so we would suggest withdrawing this table and directing users to the equivalent datafile produced using Census geographies |
| VEH0210, VEH0260 | Data does not seem to have any meaningful application and may well be distorted by the distribution of registrations of company-kept vehicles |
| VEH0301 | Data are already provided in VEH0101 and VEH0103 |
| VEH0520 to VEH0525 | We intend to revamp the information published on goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes by combining the current set of 6 tables into a more useful format |
We would welcome any feedback on the tables not made accessible (Tables 8 and 9), please contact vehicles statistics.
Background notes
About these figures
Almost all the statistics in the vehicle licensing statistics series are derived by Department for Transport statisticians from extracts of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) vehicle database. The main purpose of the database is to administer vehicle registration and licensing records in the United Kingdom.
For further information about the data used in this release, please see our guidance page which contains:
- detailed notes and definitions
- a note on users and uses of these statistics
There is also a Statement of Administrative Sources for the DVLA vehicles database.
In this release, numbers may not add up to totals and percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Geographic coverage
In July 2014, vehicle and registration services for Northern Ireland were centralised at DVLA, where these services for Great Britain were already administered. This created a single vehicle register for the United Kingdom, in place of separate registers for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. From this time, statistics can be provided for both Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
This statistical release will focus on the United Kingdom for recent trends in vehicles but use data for Great Britain to review long term trends.
Strength and weaknesses of the data
The databases used for these statistics can be regarded as being virtually complete in terms of the number of vehicles registered for the first time, licensed vehicles, and vehicles with a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). However, there may be some errors in some of the specific details of individual vehicles.
The Department for Transport has previously estimated that under 2% of the vehicle records have an inaccuracy in one of the variables used for the statistics published. Other factors to consider in interpreting these statistics include
- changes in legislation
- seasonal variation which affects some vehicle types
- foreign registered vehicles may also use UK roads without being registered with DVLA
- Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) evasion
Most of these factors will only have a marginal effect for most uses of the data.
National Statistics
These statistics were designated as National Statistics in April 2012.
National Statistics are produced to the high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.
Details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found in the pre-release access list.
Next release
Vehicle licensing statistics are published quarterly. The next release is due in July 2022, which will cover the first quarter of 2022, up to the end of March 2022.
The quarterly releases (typically published in June, September, and December) have a reduced number of tables and commentary compared to the annual publication (typically published in April).
Any updates to these plans will be advertised via the DfT statistical publications schedule.
To hear more about DfT statistics publications as they are released, please follow us on Twitter.
Related sources of information
There are more recent data than published here available from various industry bodies on the majority of vehicle sales.
For car and van data, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) publish monthly shortly after the month-end, in advance of the publication of DfT’s detailed official statistics. This can be useful to look at the most recent trends in vehicle registrations. Although there are slight differences in coverage of the SMMT data, the volumes and trends published by SMMT are generally consistent with DfT published data.
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Contact details
Vehicles statistics