National statistics

Vehicle licensing statistics: 2022

Published 15 June 2023

About this release

This release presents statistics on motor vehicles in the United Kingdom (UK) covering the period up to December 2022. They are based on administrative data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). These statistics cover:

• new vehicle registrations
• licensed vehicles
• plug-in vehicles
• zero emission vehicles

A range of detailed data tables and large data files are available online. We would welcome any feedback on the accessibility of our tables, please contact vehicles statistics.

These statistics cover the whole of the United Kingdom, which is Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland. However, long term trends (more than 8 years) can only be looked at for Great Britain, as the United Kingdom data are only available from July 2014.

Headline figures

Latest figures for 2022, show that the number of new registrations was down 4% in the UK, with new plug-in vehicles up 21%.

At the end of December 2022, there were more than 1.1 million licensed plug-in vehicles on the road, representing 2.8% of all vehicles.

Comparing 2022 with 2021, there were:

• 2,178,000 vehicles registered for the first time in the UK, down 4% (VEH0150)
• 395,000 plug-in vehicles registered for the first time in the UK, up 21% (VEH1153a)
• 267,000 battery electric (BEV) cars registered for the first time in the UK, up 40% (VEH1153a)

At the end of December 2022, there were 1.114 million licensed plug-in vehicles in the UK. This was 2.8% of all licensed road using vehicles, compared to 1.9% at the end of December 2021. (VEH1103a)

Average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time in the UK decreased by 6.5% in 2022 compared to 2021. (VEH0156)

At the end of December 2022, there were 40.7 million licensed vehicles in the UK, an increase of 1.0% compared to the end of December 2021. (VEH0101a)

Table 1: Key measures within these statistics (notes and definitions)

Key measure	Description
Vehicles registered for the first time	Vehicles that were first registered with DVLA during that time period. 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.
Plug-in vehicles	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.
Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs)	Road using vehicles that do not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) from the tailpipe when used.

Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)

Vehicle licensing data covering March 2020 onwards have been affected by:

• the government’s measures to limit the impact and transmission of COVID-19
• the wider impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy
• worldwide, ongoing issues in the semi-conductor supply chain

New vehicle registrations: overview

There were 2.2 million vehicles registered for the first time in the UK during 2022. This was a 4.0% decrease compared to 2021 but a 0.8% increase compared to 2020. (VEH0150)

Chart 1: Vehicles registered for the first time, Great Britain, 1956 to 2022 (VEH0153)

Chart 1 shows the long term trend in new vehicle registrations 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)

Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, new registrations between 2020 and 2022 were lower than in recent years, with new registrations in 2020 being the lowest since 1981. However, recent trends have also been affected by worldwide issues in component supply chains.

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.

The majority of new registrations are cars. The full breakdown of body type is presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Vehicles registered for the first time in the year by body type, United Kingdom, 2021 and 2022 (VEH0150)

Body type	2022: New registrations (thousands)	2021: New registrations (thousands)	New registrations (year on year percentage change)
Cars	1,652	1,677	-1.5%
Light goods vehicles (LGVs)	291	364	-20.0%
Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)	47	43	+8.3%
Motorcycles	126	127	-0.5%
Buses and coaches	4	5	-1.9%
Other vehicles	57	53	+8.4%
Total	2,178	2,268	-4.0%

Monthly seasonality

When DVLA issues a new registration plate series, there is usually a peak in new vehicle registrations (Table 3). For example, the recent issue of the ‘23’ plate is for vehicles registered from the beginning of March 2023 to end of August 2023.

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.

Table 3: Vehicles registered for the first time by month, United Kingdom, 2022 (VEH0150)

Date	New registrations (thousands)
January 2022	150
February 2022	91
March 2022	320
April 2022	166
May 2022	172
June 2022	194
July 2022	156
August 2022	106
September 2022	289
October 2022	179
November 2022	188
December 2022	167

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 2022, according to figures produced by ACEA, new car registrations in the UK decreased by 2.0%, whereas EU new car registrations declined by 4.6%. ACEA’s commentary on the EU was as follows:

Overall in 2022, the European Union passenger car market contracted by 4.6%, mainly due to the impact of component shortages in the first half of the year. Although the market improved from August to December 2022, cumulative volumes stand at 9.3 million units, the region’s lowest level since 1993, when 9.2 million units were registered.

Among the EU’s four largest markets, only Germany managed to post growth in 2022 (+1.1%), helped by the strong result in December. The other three markets all performed worse than in 2021, with Italy posting the steepest decline (-9.7%), followed by France (-7.8%) and Spain (-5.4%).

Source: ACEA, January 2023

New car registrations by fuel type

The fuel types presented in these statistics are explained in the notes and definitions, and 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 2022, new car registrations in the UK (VEH1153a), comprised of:

• 821,000 petrol cars (50%)
• 332,000 HEV cars (20%)
• 267,000 BEV cars (16%)
• 128,000 diesel cars (8%)
• 101,000 PHEV cars (6%)
• 4,000 using other fuel types (0.2%)

Chart 2: Cars registered for the first time by fuel type, including annual and five year change, United Kingdom, 2022 (VEH1153a)

Compared to 2021, the number of new car registrations with the fuel type:

• petrol decreased by 10%
• diesel decreased by 34%
• HEV increased by 26%
• PHEV decreased by 12%
• BEV increased by 40%

Looking at the trends over 5 years, compared to 2017, the number of new car registrations with the fuel type:

• petrol decreased by 40%
• diesel decreased by 88%
• HEV increased by 359% (around 4.5 times higher)
• PHEV increased by 207% (around 3 times higher)
• BEV increased by 1,818% (around 19 times higher)

Long term trends

Chart 3: Cars registered for the first time by fuel type, Great Britain, 2001 to 2022 (VEH1153a)

Between 2001 and 2011, the number of annual new diesel car registrations in Great Britain increased by 108%, more than doubling from 461,000 to 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 6-year period since that peak (from 2016 to 2022), new diesel car registrations fell 90%. Over the same period, the number of new car registrations using other fuel types sharply increased to a combined total of 689,000 cars, accounting for 43% of new registrations in 2022 compared to only 3% in 2016.

New electric vehicle registrations

Comparing plug-in vehicle and ultra low emission vehicle statistics

There is considerable overlap between ULEVs and plug-in vehicles, 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.

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, ultra low emission vehicle (ULEV), and zero emission vehicle (ZEV) in relation to electric vehicles

Plug-in vehicles

In 2022, 395,000 plug-in vehicles were registered for the first time in the UK, an increase of 21% on 2021 and 114% on 2020. (VEH1153a)

Plug-in vehicles accounted for 19% of all UK new road using vehicle registrations in 2022, up from 15% in 2021 and 9% in 2020.

Chart 4: Plug-in vehicles registered for the first time in the year by fuel type, United Kingdom, 2015 to 2022 (VEH0181a)

Chart 4 shows the number of new plug-in vehicle registrations in the year since 2015, which has increased every year.

Between 2015 and 2018, the most common fuel type for new plug-in vehicle registrations in the year was PHEVs, accounting for between 57% and 66% of all new plug-in vehicle registrations. Since 2019, BEVs have accounted for the majority of new plug-in vehicle registrations.

In 2022, BEVs accounted for 74% of new plug-in vehicle registrations, with PHEVs accounting for 25% and range extended electric vehicles (REEVs) accounting for 1%.

Table 4: Plug-in vehicles registered for the first time by body type, with previous year and total new registrations comparison, United Kingdom, 2022 (VEH1153a)

Body type	2022: New registrations	2021: New registrations	Year on year percentage change	2022: Proportion of all new road using vehicle registrations that are plug-in
Cars	367,551	304,650	+21%	22.2%
Light goods vehicles	18,255	14,244	+28%	6.3%
Heavy goods vehicles	803	145	+454%	1.8%
Motorcycles	6,283	5,855	+7%	5.0%
Buses and coaches	686	497	+38%	15.4%
Other vehicles	1,903	1,258	+51%	36.5%
Total	395,481	326,649	+21%	18.6%

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.

In 2022, the most common generic model of plug-in vehicle registered for the first time in the UK was Tesla Model Y with 35,600 vehicles, followed by Tesla Model 3 with 19,100 vehicles, and Kia Niro with 12,500 vehicles. (VEH0181b)

Chart 5: Top 25 generic models for plug-in vehicles registered for the first time by fuel type, United Kingdom, 2022 (VEH0181b)

Chart 5 shows the top 25 generic models registered for the first time in 2022 for the UK. These common generic models accounted for 56% of all new plug-in vehicle registrations, with the majority being BEV models. The most common generic model by body type in 2022 is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Most common generic model for plug-in vehicles registered for the first time by body type, United Kingdom, 2022

Body type	Most common generic model	2022: New plug-in registrations
Cars	Tesla Model Y	35,554
Light goods vehicles	Vauxhall Vivaro	4,209
Heavy goods vehicles	Maxus Deliver	336
Motorcycles	Vmoto CPA	651
Buses and coaches	Byd Enviro	453
Other vehicles	LEVC TX (taxi)	1,718

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).

Low emission vehicles

Ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) are defined in these statistics as road using vehicles that are reported to emit less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the tailpipe for every kilometre travelled.

In 2022, 391,000 ULEVs were registered for the first time in the UK, an increase of 22% on 2021. ULEVs accounted for 18% of all UK new vehicle registrations in 2022, up from 14% in 2021. (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 2022, 292,000 ZEVs were registered for the first time in the UK, which were virtually all BEVs with only 18 registrations of FCEVs.

Carbon (CO2) emissions for new vehicle registrations

The history of measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for cars and vans in the UK is complex and care should be taken when interpreting these alongside the notes and definitions.

Measures of CO2 emissions

WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure): The current laboratory test used for cars and vans, designed to be more representative of real-world driving emissions than the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) that was used prior to 2018.

e-NEDC (estimated NEDC or NEDC correlated): Calculated using the results from a WLTP test via the CO2MPAS tool developed by the European Commission. This measure became optional to report to DVLA from January 2021. Since that point, the measure has been subject to self-selection bias as fewer manufacturers report this figure. This measure will not be available for vehicles registered from 2023 onwards.

Average emissions for new cars

In the UK, the average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time in 2022 was 110.8 grams per kilometre (g/km) using the WLTP measure, down 6.5% compared with 2021. (VEH0156)

Chart 6: Average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time, measured under WLTP, grams per kilometre (g/km), quarterly, United Kingdom, 2018 Quarter 4 (October to December) to 2022 Quarter 4 (October to December) (VEH0156)

Recent decreases have been affected by a notable shift towards registering new zero emission (ZEV) cars from late 2020 onwards. The lowest quarterly value of 101.8 g/km was observed in 2022 Quarter 4 (October to December), which coincided with the highest quarterly share (22.0%) of new car registrations being zero emission. (VEH1153)

Chart 6 shows the recent trends in average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time in the UK. Since 2019, the average emissions steadily fell (year on year) using the WLTP measure. Between 2019 and 2022, average CO2 emissions for new cars fell by 27%, from 152.0 g/km to 110.8 g/km.

Average emissions by fuel type

Using the WLTP measure (VEH0156), the average CO2 emissions for new car registrations in 2022 by fuel type were as follows:

• petrol cars had 143.0 g/km, consistent with 2021
• diesel cars had 164.0 g/km, up 2% compared to 2021
• hybrid electric (petrol) cars had 126.2 g/km, consistent with 2021
• plug-in hybrid electric (petrol) cars had 35.1 g/km, down 10% compared to 2021

Chart 7: Average CO2 emissions for cars registered for the first time by selected fuel type, measured using WLTP, grams per kilometre (g/km), United Kingdom, 2018 Quarter 4 (October to December) to 2022 Quarter 4 (October to December) (VEH0156)

Average emissions for new light goods vehicles

In the UK, the average CO2 emissions for light goods vehicles registered for the first time in 2022 was 193.2g/km using the WLTP measure, down 2.2% compared with 2021 (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, as shown in Chart 8. 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 and 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 and 130 g/km.

Chart 8: Cars registered for the first time by current VED band (measured using reported CO2 emissions), quarterly, Great Britain, 2012 Quarter 4 (October to December) to 2022 Quarter 4 (October to December) (VEH0256)

Licensed vehicles: overview

At the end of December 2022, there were 40.7 million licensed vehicles in the UK, which was a 1.0% increase compared to the end of December 2021, and a 2.3% 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

Cars make up the majority of licensed vehicles. Table 6 shows the number of licensed vehicles by body type in the United Kingdom at the end of December 2022.

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 6.

Table 6: Licensed vehicles by body type, including 12-month change in licensed vehicles and vehicles with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN), United Kingdom, the end of December 2022 (VEH0101)

Body type	Number of licensed vehicles (thousands)	12-month change in licensed vehicles (thousands)	12-month change in vehicles with a SORN (thousands)
Cars	33,187	+298	+105
Light goods vehicles	4,623	+82	+51
Heavy goods vehicles	537	+8	+17
Motorcycles	1,364	+22	+60
Buses and coaches	143	-3	+2
Other vehicles	843	+15	+15
Total	40,698	+423	+251

At the end of December 2022, there were annual increases for all body types except buses and coaches, which declined by 1.7%. All body types had increases over a 2-year period, as shown in Table 7, with changes ranging from +6.3% for light goods vehicles to +1.2% for buses and coaches.

Table 7: Annual and 2-year percentage change in licensed vehicles by body type, United Kingdom, the end of December 2022 (VEH0101)

Body type	Annual change in licensed vehicles	2-year change in licensed vehicles
Cars	+0.9%	+1.5%
Light goods vehicles	+1.8%	+6.3%
Heavy goods vehicles	+1.5%	+5.3%
Motorcycles	+1.6%	+5.1%
Buses and coaches	-1.7%	+1.2%
Other vehicles	+1.9%	+4.6%
Total	+1.0%	+2.3%

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, the end of December 1950 to end of December 2022 (VEH0103)

Chart 10 shows how the long term trends in licensed vehicles have varied by body type. Over the last 25 years, compared to 1997, the number of licensed vehicles by body type has changed as follows at the end of December 2022:

• total vehicles increased by 46%
• cars increased by 41%
• light goods vehicles increased by 101%
• heavy goods vehicles increased by 18%
• motorcycles increased by 78%
• buses and coaches decreased by 14%

Chart 10: Index of licensed vehicles by body type, Great Britain, the end of December 1997 to end of December 2022 (VEH0101a)

Vehicle age

At the end of December 2022, the average age of a licensed car in the UK was 9.1 years old, up 4 months compared to the end of December 2021 (VEH1107).

Table 8: Average age since first use and 12-month change in age for licensed vehicles by body type, United Kingdom, the end of December 2022 (VEH1107)

Body type	Average age since first use at the end of December 2022 (years)	12-month change in average age (months)
Cars	9.1	+4
Light goods vehicles	8.9	+3
Heavy goods vehicles	7.7	+1
Motorcycles	15.4	+2
Buses and coaches	11.9	+5
Other vehicles	17.0	+2
Total	9.4	+4

The average age of every body type increased over the past year by between 1 and 5 months, reflecting relatively lower numbers of new registrations and less intense vehicle usage during the coronavirus pandemic. Chart 11 shows the age profiles for the main body types by year of first use.

Chart 11: Licensed vehicles by body type, fuel type and year of first use (1997 onwards), United Kingdom, the end of December 2022 (VEH1111)

Licensed electric vehicles

Since the majority of electric vehicles (EVs) have been registered in the last decade, only a low proportion of these vehicles are no longer roadworthy and consequently there is a close relationship in the statistics between total new EV registrations since 2015 and the licensed stock of EVs.

However, the number of licensed electric vehicles has begun to grow more slowly than the total number of new registrations. This is a consequence of EVs leaving the on-road stock through a variety of routes, such as:

• receiving a SORN
• being written off or scrapped
• being exported from the UK

To illustrate this, between the end of December 2021 and the end of December 2022, there were 292,000 new UK registrations of battery electric vehicles, however the number of licensed battery electric vehicles in the UK only increased by 272,000.

At the end of December 2022, there were 1.114 million licensed plug-in vehicles in the UK. This was an increase of 49% compared to the end of December 2021, when there were 0.748 million. (VEH0141a)

Chart 12: Proportion of licensed plug-in vehicles by body type and fuel type, United Kingdom, the end of December 2022 (VEH0141a)

As shown in Chart 12, out of the total figure of 1.114 million:

• 629,000 were BEV cars (56%)
• 404,000 were PHEV cars (36%)
• 45,000 were BEV light goods vehicles (4%)
• 13,000 were BEV motorcycles (1%)
• 10,000 were REEV cars (1%)
• 7,000 were REEV other vehicles (1%)
• 7,000 were other remaining categories (1%)

Heavy vans

Cars and light goods vehicles (up to 3.5 tonnes) can typically be driven by those with a category B driving licence. In July 2018, people with this licence could drive alternatively fuelled vehicles up to 4.25 tonnes with some additional training.

In order to identify this group of vehicles, this release includes a new HGV data file, (df_VEH0520), which provides details about the current fleet of vehicles impacted.

At the end of December 2022, there were 1,300 licensed battery electric heavy goods vehicles in the UK. However, 63% (822 vehicles) of these are “heavy vans”, leaving only 478 vehicles as “larger HGVs”.

Ultra low emission vehicles

At the end of December 2022, there were 1.103 million licensed ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK. This was an increase of 49% compared to the end of December 2021, when there were 0.739 million. (VEH0133a)

The majority of ULEVs licensed at the end of December 2022 were either BEVs (63%) or PHEVs (35%). 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 2022, the top 3 makes for new car registrations in the UK were:

• Volkswagen (8.2%)
• Ford (7.8%)
• Toyota (7.0%)

For total licensed car stock at the end of December 2022, the top 3 makes in the UK were different to new registrations, namely:

• Ford (12.0%)
• Vauxhall (8.9%)
• Volkswagen (8.8%)

Common car generic models

Nissan Qashqai was the most common generic model for new car registrations in 2022, with 43,000 registrations, followed by Toyota Yaris with 38,000 registrations and Vauxhall Corsa with 36,000 registrations (Chart 13). (df_VEH0160)

At the end of December 2022, the most common licensed car was Ford Fiesta with 1.46 million licensed, followed by Ford Focus with 1.06 million, and Volkswagen Golf with 1.01 million (Chart 13).

Chart 13: Top 10 generic models for cars registered for the first time during 2022 and for those licensed at the end of December 2022, United Kingdom (df_VEH0120_UK and df_VEH0160_UK)

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. These statistics are based on the provided title of the keeper (for example Mr, Mrs, Ms).

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.

Chart 14: Proportion of cars by keepership, comparison of new car registrations in 2022 and licensed cars at the end of December 2022, United Kingdom (VEH1152 and VEH1102)

During 2022, 53.2% of cars registered for the first time had a company keeper. However, the proportion of all licensed cars at the end of December 2022 kept by companies was much lower at only 8.5%, as shown in Chart 14. 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 15: Proportion of licensed cars by detailed keepership, Great Britain, end of December 1994 to end of December 2022 (VEH1102)

Over the last 25 years, compared to the end of December 1997, the proportion of licensed cars registered to female private keepers has increased from 29% to 35% in Great Britain. As shown in Chart 15, over the same period, the proportion of licensed cars registered to male private keepers has decreased from 56% to 50%.

At the end of December 2022, out of all licensed cars 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
• 9% were registered to company keepers
• 2% were between keepers

Plug-in vehicles

The majority (56%) of plug-in vehicles are company-kept in the UK, which is much higher than the proportion for all licensed vehicles (15%), as shown in Chart 16.

Chart 16: Proportion of licensed plug-in vehicles that have company keepers by fuel type, including all licensed vehicles for comparison, United Kingdom, quarterly, the end of December 2014 to end of December 2022 (VEH0142 and VEH1102)

At the end of December 2022, out of all plug-in vehicles:

• 56% were company-kept
• 43% were privately-kept
• 2% were between keepers

Improvements made in this release

If you have any feedback on any of these changes, please contact vehicles statistics.

Table review

In the previous annual release (2021), we proposed a review of a number of tables that had limited value. The outcomes of this review are covered in Table 9.

Table 9: Update to 2021 table review

Data table number(s)	Reason for review	Conclusion
VEH0103, VEH0153	Data are provided only a limited breakdown of tax classes	Publish as before but continue to review tax class breakdown.
VEH0111	Data are not considered robust and interpretation is uncertain	Publish as before but continue to investigate methodology.
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 data file produced using Census geographies	Withdraw the tables.
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	Withdraw the tables.
VEH0301	Data are already provided in VEH0101 and VEH0103	Withdraw the table.
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	Introduce new data file df_VEH0520 that covers this topic in much more detail. Consequently, all these tables have been withdrawn alongside VEH0506.

Data table changes

Following an internal review of our suppression policy, we have decided to release some figures that related to fewer than 5 vehicles that were previously suppressed as “[c]”. Affected tables include:

• VEH0105
• VEH0132
• VEH0142
• VEH0133
• VEH0141
• VEH0171
• VEH0181

The geographic breakdown by country has been added to our statistical tables (with the exception of those relating to make and model data). This means statistics are now being published separately for:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

This release includes a new quarterly data table VEH9901, which provides information on fuel and body types by year of first registration to assist assessment of emission and clean air policies.

Data file changes

A number of changes were introduced to the data files in this release to help meet the needs of our users and to provide more detail.

Fuel type has been added to:

• df_VEH0120_GB
• df_VEH0120_UK
• df_VEH0160_GB
• df_VEH0160_UK

Historic UK data has been added to:

• df_VEH0124 (now split into two files)
• df_VEH0220
• df_VEH0270

A new data file has been added df_VEH0520, which relates to heavy goods vehicles.

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.

Some improvements were made in this release.

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 focuses on the United Kingdom for recent trends in vehicles but uses 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.

Dates of future releases 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 covering most 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 latest 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.

Instructions for printing and saving

Depending on which browser you use and the type of device you use (such as a mobile or laptop) these instructions may vary.

Tablets and mobile devices normally have the option to “find in text” and “print or save” in their sharing or quick options menu of their browser, but this will vary by device model.

How to search

Select Ctrl and F on a Windows laptop or Command and F on a Mac.

This will open a search box in the top right-hand corner of the page. Type the word you are looking for in the search bar and press enter.

Your browser will highlight the word, usually in yellow, wherever it appears on the page. Press enter to move to the next place it appears.

Contact details

Vehicles statistics

Email vehicles.stats@dft.gov.uk

Public enquiries 020 7944 3077

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878