How many Audi A8s are still on the road in Great Britain, how many are declared off the road, how new registrations have changed and which fuels they use. Built from DVLA licensing records and 10,977 DVSA MOT tests.
Licensed in Great Britain9,103−6.4% on a year earlier
Declared SORN3,196Off the road, not taxed
MOT first-time pass rate, 202587.1%Cars of the same ages 70.6%
Rank by number licensedNo. 349of 1,159 models we cover
Peak year201612,772 licensed
Average annual mileage8,049miles a year
How many Audi A8s are left in Great Britain?
There were 9,103 Audi A8s licensed in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, and a further 3,196 declared off the road (SORN).
That is 28.7% fewer than the peak of 12,772 in 2016.
In 2025, 87.1% of Audi A8 MOT tests were passed first time,
against 72.8% for all cars.
Cars of the same ages as the Audi A8s tested pass 70.6% of the time, so the Audi A8 does better than average for its age, by 16.5 points. In 2024 its pass rate was 86.3%.
MOT first-time pass rate by age: Audi A8 vs all cars
Comparing like with like: each bar pair covers cars of the same age, so an older average age does not count against a model.
0%
50%
100%
4–5 years
6–7 years
8–10 years
11–14 years
15–19 years
20+ years
Audi A8
All cars
MOT first-time pass rate by vehicle age, Audi A8 compared with all cars
Tyres is the most common reason a Audi A8 fails its MOT,
appearing on 31.2% of failed tests. A failed test can have defects in
more than one category, so shares add up to more than 100%.
4.1% of Audi A8 tests found at least one dangerous defect, against 7.3% for all cars.
Most common MOT failure categories
Share of failed Audi A8 MOT tests with at least one defect in each category
The single most common reason a Audi A8 failed its MOT in 2025 was
“Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction”, on 11.8% of 1,421 failed tests.
38.3% of tests ended with at least one advisory, a problem to watch that did not fail the test; the most common was “Tread depth: worn close to legal limit or worn on edge”.
The same fault on any wheel or side counts once.
Most common reasons for failure
Share of failed tests with each defect. A test can fail for more than one.
Most common specific MOT defects on failed Audi A8 tests, 2025
Defect
Share of failed tests
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks
11.8%
Tyres: ply or cords exposed Tyres
9.7%
Tyres: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres
9.4%
Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn Suspension
7.2%
Tyres: cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres
10 years of the Audi A8, by year of first registration, have their own page with MOT results, common faults, mileage and how many are left. Against all cars of the same age, the 2008 cars did best at their 2025 MOT (81.0% passed first time) and the 2019 cars worst (92.3%).
Registered: cars on the DVLA record at the end of the year they were first registered (these counts start in 2014, so older years show a dash). Left:
licensed or declared SORN at the end of 2025.
Both cover the United Kingdom. Pass rate: first-time passes at normal MOT tests in Great
Britain in 2025; all cars: every car first registered the same year.
Audi A8 annual mileage
The average Audi A8 covers 8,049 miles a year,
worked out from odometer readings at consecutive MOT tests.
Average annual mileage by age
0
5k
10k
15k
11,597
4–5 years
10,109
6–7 years
8,509
8–10 years
7,811
11–14 years
6,693
15–19 years
3,838
20+ years
Average annual mileage of a Audi A8 by vehicle age
Of the 9,740 Audi A8s licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, 84.0% have an engine of 2,901cc to 3,000cc, and 11.3% have an engine of 4,101cc to 4,200cc. The share with an engine of 2,901cc to 3,000cc has grown from 62.1% in 2014 to 84.0%. Petrols made up 23.5% of those licensed in 2014 and 12.6% in 2025.
Engine sizes, end of 2025
DVLA records engine size in 100cc bands.
Audi A8s licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, by engine size
Engine size
Share of those licensed
2,901cc to 3,000cc 8,179 licensed
84.0%
4,101cc to 4,200cc 1,099 licensed
11.3%
3,901cc to 4,000cc 104 licensed
1.1%
2,701cc to 2,800cc 101 licensed
1.0%
3,601cc to 3,700cc 81 licensed
0.8%
Other sizes 176 licensed
1.8%
Source:DfT / DVLAEnd of 2014 to end of 2025Updated
Engine size and fuel together, end of 2025
Engine size and fuel together, end of 2025
Engine size
Fuel
Licensed
Share
2,901–3,000cc
Diesel
7,348
75.4%
4,101–4,200cc
Diesel
827
8.5%
2,901–3,000cc
Petrol
588
6.0%
4,101–4,200cc
Petrol
264
2.7%
2,901–3,000cc
Plug-in hybrid
242
2.5%
2,701–2,800cc
Petrol
100
1.0%
Engine sizes, 2014 to 2025
Share of those licensed at the end of each year, for the most common sizes.
Audi A8s licensed in the UK by fuel type, share of each year’s total
Year
Diesel
Petrol
Plug-in hybrid
2014
75.5%
23.5%
0.0%
2015
78.2%
20.9%
0.0%
2016
80.8%
18.5%
0.0%
2017
82.6%
16.9%
0.0%
2018
83.6%
15.9%
0.0%
2019
84.8%
14.7%
0.0%
2020
85.1%
14.3%
0.2%
2021
85.2%
13.9%
0.5%
2022
85.4%
13.5%
0.8%
2023
84.6%
13.0%
2.0%
2024
84.9%
12.6%
2.2%
2025
84.6%
12.6%
2.5%
Source:DfT / DVLAEnd of 2014 to end of 2025Updated
United Kingdom figures from DfT table VEH0220 (licensed cars at the end of each year, SORN
excluded), so they differ slightly from the Great Britain counts elsewhere on this page.
How we use engine sizes.
Audi A8 fuel economy and CO2
The Vehicle Certification Agency’s new car data lists the Audi A8 from 2000, when the data begins, and still lists it. On the WLTP test (listings 2025 to 2026), official combined fuel economy for its petrol hybrid and diesel hybrid versions ranges from 28.0 to 40.4 mpg, with CO2 of 184 to 230 g/km. On the older NEDC test (listings 2000 to 2018), official combined fuel economy for its petrol, diesel and petrol hybrid versions ranges from 19.1 to 50.4 mpg, with CO2 of 145 to 355 g/km.
Official WLTP figures by engine and fuel, listed 2025 to 2026
Official WLTP figures by engine and fuel, listed 2025 to 2026
Engine and fuel
Combined mpg
CO2 g/km
Listed
Euro standard
Versions
3.0 petrol hybrid
28.0–30.1
212–230
2025–2026
Euro 6
1
3.0 diesel hybrid
37.7–40.4
184–196
2025–2026
Euro 6
1
Older NEDC figures, listed 2000 to 2018 (13 engine and fuel groups)
Official NEDC figures by engine and fuel, listed 2000 to 2018
Official figures from laboratory type-approval tests. VCA says they may not be achieved in
real-world driving, and should not be used to rank cars with similar figures.
NEDC figures (in VCA’s data until September 2018) and WLTP figures (from the 2019 guide)
come from different tests, so they are shown separately and should not be compared.
VCA’s data has no Audi versions for 2019 to 2024, so the years listed may leave out years the Audi A8 was on sale.
Engine sizes are rounded to the nearest 0.1 litre. A version is one line in
VCA’s data (description, gearbox, engine and fuel), counted once however many years it was
listed.
Matched from VCA’s model names “A8”, “A8 (from NOV 06 Wk 45 >)”, “Audi A8 (Sport, Quattro & Quattro Sport)”, “A8 Hybrid”. How we use VCA’s figures.
Audi A8 safety recalls
DVSA lists 24 safety recalls for the Audi A8 since 1992, the first in 1996. The most recent was launched on 10 October 2025.
Software update for battery control unit
Launched 10 October 2025DVSA recall R/2025/441Manufacturer ref. 93QQ
Defect
On affected vehicles there may be defective battery modules which may result in a fire hazard when charging the high-voltage battery.
Remedy
Update the software of the high-voltage battery to improve the self-diagnosis capabilities. Vehicle owners are advised to not charge the high-voltage battery using external charging sources and also not use the e-tron modes “Battery charge” and “Battery hold” until the update is applied.
A recall applies to cars built on particular dates or with particular VINs, not to every Audi A8. The details come from manufacturers through DVSA, which says they may be delayed or
incomplete. To check a specific car, use GOV.UK’s vehicle recall check or ask the manufacturer or a
dealer. How we match recalls to models.
Figures cover Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland is not included.
Licensed counts are vehicles with a current tax or exemption at the end of each year (or the latest quarter). SORN counts are shown separately.
First registrations count vehicles registered in Great Britain for the first time, including used imports.
Models are grouped by DVLA’s generic model name, so every generation and trim counts together.
MOT figures cover normal tests of cars aged three and over in 2025; retests are excluded. Age is rounded to the nearest year.
DVSA records the model name typed in at the test. We match those names to DVLA’s generic models, so a handful of tests may be counted under a close relative.
