How many Kia Optimas 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 10,954 DVSA MOT tests.
Licensed in Great Britain9,859−3.6% on a year earlier
Declared SORN364Off the road, not taxed
MOT first-time pass rate, 202578.5%Cars of the same ages 77.4%
Rank by number licensedNo. 344of 1,159 models we cover
Peak year201911,192 licensed
Average annual mileage10,155miles a year
How many Kia Optimas are left in Great Britain?
There were 9,859 Kia Optimas licensed in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, and a further 364 declared off the road (SORN).
That is 11.9% fewer than the peak of 11,192 in 2019.
Kia Optimas 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, 78.5% of Kia Optima MOT tests were passed first time,
against 72.8% for all cars.
Cars of the same ages as the Kia Optimas tested pass 77.4% of the time, so the Kia Optima does better than average for its age, by 1.1 points. In 2024 its pass rate was 79.0%.
MOT first-time pass rate by age: Kia Optima 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
Kia Optima
All cars
MOT first-time pass rate by vehicle age, Kia Optima compared with all cars
Brakes is the most common reason a Kia Optima fails its MOT,
appearing on 37.1% of failed tests. A failed test can have defects in
more than one category, so shares add up to more than 100%.
8.8% of Kia Optima tests found at least one dangerous defect, against 7.3% for all cars.
Most common MOT failure categories
Share of failed Kia Optima MOT tests with at least one defect in each category
The single most common reason a Kia Optima failed its MOT in 2025 was
“Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick”, on 16.3% of 2,350 failed tests.
50.3% 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 Kia Optima tests, 2025
Defect
Share of failed tests
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes
16.3%
Tyres: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres
10.6%
Tyres: ply or cords exposed Tyres
8.1%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks
6.3%
Tyres: cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres
6.2%
Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play Steering
6.0%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility
7 years of the Kia Optima, 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 2016 cars did best at their 2025 MOT (80.5% passed first time) and the 2019 cars worst (80.6%).
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.
Kia Optima annual mileage
The average Kia Optima covers 10,155 miles a year,
worked out from odometer readings at consecutive MOT tests.
Average annual mileage by age
0
5k
10k
15k
11,126
6–7 years
10,042
8–10 years
7,647
11–14 years
Average annual mileage of a Kia Optima by vehicle age
Registrations of Kia Optimas for the first time in Great Britain peaked at 3,556 in 2017. In 2025, 0 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
4k
’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
Kia Optimas registered for the first time in Great Britain, by year
Of the 10,626 Kia Optimas licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, 73.8% have an engine of 1,601cc to 1,700cc, and 19.2% have an engine of 1,501cc to 1,600cc. The share with an engine of 1,601cc to 1,700cc has fallen from 100.0% in 2014 to 73.8%. Diesels made up 100.0% of those licensed in 2014 and 93.0% in 2025.
Engine sizes, end of 2025
DVLA records engine size in 100cc bands.
Kia Optimas licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, by engine size
Engine size
Share of those licensed
1,601cc to 1,700cc 7,843 licensed
73.8%
1,501cc to 1,600cc 2,039 licensed
19.2%
1,901cc to 2,000cc 744 licensed
7.0%
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
1,601–1,700cc
Diesel
7,843
73.8%
1,501–1,600cc
Diesel
2,039
19.2%
1,901–2,000cc
Plug-in hybrid
681
6.4%
Engine sizes, 2014 to 2025
Share of those licensed at the end of each year, for the most common sizes.
Kia Optimas licensed in the UK by fuel type, share of each year’s total
Year
Diesel
Plug-in hybrid
2014
100.0%
0.0%
2015
100.0%
0.0%
2016
94.4%
5.6%
2017
94.2%
5.8%
2018
93.9%
5.9%
2019
93.3%
6.2%
2020
93.4%
6.1%
2021
93.0%
6.4%
2022
93.0%
6.4%
2023
93.1%
6.3%
2024
93.0%
6.4%
2025
93.0%
6.4%
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.
Kia Optima fuel economy and CO2
The Vehicle Certification Agency’s new car data lists the Kia Optima from 2012 to 2021. On the WLTP test (listings 2019 to 2021), official combined fuel economy for its petrol and diesel versions ranges from 30.4 to 54.3 mpg, with CO2 of 137 to 211 g/km. On the older NEDC test (listings 2012 to 2018), official combined fuel economy for its petrol and diesel versions ranges from 30.7 to 67.3 mpg, with CO2 of 110 to 211 g/km; plug-in hybrid versions are rated at 176.6 to 201.8 mpg (weighted).
Official WLTP figures by engine and fuel, listed 2019 to 2021
Official WLTP figures by engine and fuel, listed 2019 to 2021
Engine and fuel
Combined mpg
CO2 g/km
Listed
Euro standard
Versions
2.0 petrol
30.4
211
2019–2021
Euro 6d‑TEMP
1
1.6 diesel
51.4–54.3
137–143
2019–2021
Euro 6d‑TEMP
7
Older NEDC figures, listed 2012 to 2018 (4 engine and fuel groups)
Official NEDC figures by engine and fuel, listed 2012 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.
Plug-in hybrid figures are VCA’s weighted values, which count driving on battery power as
well as on fuel.
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 “Optima”, “Optima Saloon”, “Optima Sportwagon”, “Optima Face-Lift”. How we use VCA’s figures.
Kia Optima safety recalls
DVSA lists 6 safety recalls for the Kia Optima since 1992, the first in 2013. The most recent was launched on 5 December 2024.
The HECU hydraulic electronic control unit of affected vehicles equipped with Anti-lock Brake Systems ABS and Electronic Stability Control ESC could leak internally and cause an electrical short over time. In extreme cases the HECU could overheat with a possible risk of an under bonnet fire.
Remedy
The recall will replace the fuses in the junction box with a lower rated version.
A recall applies to cars built on particular dates or with particular VINs, not to every Kia Optima. 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.
