How many BMW 6 Series 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 21,671 DVSA MOT tests.
Licensed in Great Britain18,659−5.0% on a year earlier
Declared SORN4,722Off the road, not taxed
MOT first-time pass rate, 202579.6%Cars of the same ages 68.7%
Rank by number licensedNo. 252of 1,159 models we cover
Peak year201923,610 licensed
Average annual mileage6,542miles a year
How many BMW 6 Series are left in Great Britain?
There were 18,659 BMW 6 Series licensed in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, and a further 4,722 declared off the road (SORN).
That is 21.0% fewer than the peak of 23,610 in 2019.
BMW 6 Series licensed in Great Britain
Numbers peaked in 2019 and have fallen every year since, as older cars are scrapped faster than new ones are registered.
In 2025, 79.6% of BMW 6 Series MOT tests were passed first time,
against 72.8% for all cars.
Cars of the same ages as the BMW 6 Series tested pass 68.7% of the time, so the BMW 6 Series does better than average for its age, by 10.9 points. In 2024 its pass rate was 79.4%.
MOT first-time pass rate by age: BMW 6 Series 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%
6–7 years
8–10 years
11–14 years
15–19 years
20+ years
BMW 6 Series
All cars
MOT first-time pass rate by vehicle age, BMW 6 Series compared with all cars
Tyres is the most common reason a BMW 6 Series fails its MOT,
appearing on 33.2% of failed tests. A failed test can have defects in
more than one category, so shares add up to more than 100%.
6.9% of BMW 6 Series tests found at least one dangerous defect, against 7.3% for all cars.
Most common MOT failure categories
Share of failed BMW 6 Series MOT tests with at least one defect in each category
Most common BMW 6 Series MOT defects and advisories
The single most common reason a BMW 6 Series failed its MOT in 2025 was
“Coil spring: fractured or broken”, on 14.4% of 4,427 failed tests.
41.2% 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 BMW 6 Series tests, 2025
Defect
Share of failed tests
Coil spring: fractured or broken Suspension
14.4%
Tyres: ply or cords exposed Tyres
9.2%
Tyres: cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres
7.7%
Tyres: bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres
7.0%
Tyres: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres
6.0%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks
16 years of the BMW 6 Series, 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 2010 cars did best at their 2025 MOT (80.0% passed first time) and the 2019 cars worst (88.4%).
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.
BMW 6 Series annual mileage
The average BMW 6 Series covers 6,542 miles a year,
worked out from odometer readings at consecutive MOT tests.
Average annual mileage by age
0
5k
10k
15k
10,451
4–5 years
9,119
6–7 years
7,679
8–10 years
6,655
11–14 years
4,791
15–19 years
2,734
20+ years
Average annual mileage of a BMW 6 Series by vehicle age
Registrations of BMW 6 Series for the first time in Great Britain peaked at 2,773 in 2004. In 2025, 12 were registered. With almost none registered new, the number on the road is likely to keep falling.
Registered for the first time, by year
0
1k
2k
3k
’01
’02
’03
’04
’05
’06
’07
’08
’09
’10
’11
’12
’13
’14
’15
’16
’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
’24
’25
BMW 6 Series registered for the first time in Great Britain, by year
Of the 19,660 BMW 6 Series licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, 80.5% have an engine of 2,901cc to 3,000cc, and 7.1% have an engine of 4,301cc to 4,400cc. The share with an engine of 4,301cc to 4,400cc has fallen from 17.3% in 2014 to 7.1%. Diesels made up 47.5% of those licensed in 2014 and 65.4% in 2025.
Engine sizes, end of 2025
DVLA records engine size in 100cc bands.
BMW 6 Series licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, by engine size
Engine size
Share of those licensed
2,901cc to 3,000cc 15,827 licensed
80.5%
4,301cc to 4,400cc 1,405 licensed
7.1%
1,901cc to 2,000cc 1,130 licensed
5.7%
4,701cc to 4,800cc 783 licensed
4.0%
3,401cc to 3,500cc 347 licensed
1.8%
Other sizes 168 licensed
0.9%
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
12,170
61.9%
2,901–3,000cc
Petrol
3,655
18.6%
4,301–4,400cc
Petrol
1,399
7.1%
4,701–4,800cc
Petrol
780
4.0%
1,901–2,000cc
Diesel
615
3.1%
1,901–2,000cc
Petrol
515
2.6%
3,401–3,500cc
Petrol
345
1.8%
Engine sizes, 2014 to 2025
Share of those licensed at the end of each year, for the most common sizes.
BMW 6 Series licensed in the UK by fuel type, share of each year’s total
Year
Diesel
Petrol
2014
47.5%
52.4%
2015
52.7%
47.3%
2016
56.8%
43.2%
2017
58.7%
41.3%
2018
60.8%
39.2%
2019
61.9%
38.1%
2020
62.7%
37.3%
2021
63.1%
36.9%
2022
63.8%
36.2%
2023
64.5%
35.4%
2024
65.2%
34.7%
2025
65.4%
34.5%
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.
BMW 6 Series fuel economy and CO2
The Vehicle Certification Agency’s new car data lists the BMW 6 Series from 2004 to 2018. On the NEDC test (listings 2004 to 2018), official combined fuel economy for its petrol and diesel versions ranges from 18.6 to 57.6 mpg, with CO2 of 129 to 366 g/km.
Official NEDC figures by engine and fuel, listed 2004 to 2018
Official NEDC figures by engine and fuel, listed 2004 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.
VCA’s data has no BMW versions for 2019 to 2024, so the years listed may leave out years the BMW 6 Series 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 “6 Series E63/E64”, “6 Series F12/F13, March 2011”, “6 Series Gran Coupé F06, From June 2012”, “6 Series F12/F13 March 2011”. How we use VCA’s figures.
BMW 6 Series safety recalls
DVSA lists 29 safety recalls for the BMW 6 Series since 1992, the first in 2004. The most recent was launched on 2 March 2026.
Replace the Engine Starter Motor
Launched 2 March 2026DVSA recall R/2026/054Manufacturer ref. 0012650600/0012660600/0012670600/0012680600/0012770600/0012790600
Defect
The Safety Recall relates to the engine starter motor. The fault relates to the RSW22 starter RWT (reinforced water tightness). It was found that with RWT starters an increased abrasion of the magnetic contact can cause the growth of deposits at the lowest point of the relay interior. This in turn may increase the relay contact resistance resulting in false starts or even causing short circuits and possibly a thermal reaction. In case of a short circuit the possibility of a thermal event cannot be excluded. This may happen while attempting to start the vehicle or while driving due to vibrations causing a short circuit due to moving deposits.
Remedy
On the affected vehicles the starter motor will be replaced with a variant by another supplier with a different design. Until the repair has been completed it is recommended to not leave the vehicle running unattended after starting the engine.
A recall applies to cars built on particular dates or with particular VINs, not to every BMW 6 Series. 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.
