Car statistics
Proton car statistics
How many Proton cars are on the road in Great Britain, every Proton model, its share of new cars over time and which fuels they use and their safety recalls. Built from DVLA licensing records.
- Licensed in Great Britain 872 −25.7% on a year earlier
- Rank among makes No. 95 under 0.01% of licensed cars
- Declared SORN 2,162 71.3% of those still registered
- New registrations in 2025 0 0.00% of all new cars
- Most common fuel Petrol 95.5% of those licensed
- Safety recalls since 1992 8 naming 6 Proton models
How many Proton cars are on the road?
There were 872 Proton cars licensed in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, and a further 2,162 declared off the road (SORN). That is under 0.01% of all licensed cars, making Proton the No. 95 make on the road. That is 99.1% fewer than the peak of 97,454 in 2000. Petrol makes up 95.5% of licensed Proton cars, against 54.6% of all cars.
Proton cars licensed in Great Britain
The highest year-end count was 97,454 in 2000.
| Year | Licensed |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 65,317 |
| 1995 | 73,481 |
| 1996 | 82,208 |
| 1997 | 87,726 |
| 1998 | 89,875 |
| 1999 | 97,133 |
| 2000 | 97,454 |
| 2001 | 95,359 |
| 2002 | 90,055 |
| 2003 | 81,522 |
| 2004 | 73,111 |
| 2005 | 63,549 |
| 2006 | 54,687 |
| 2007 | 47,229 |
| 2008 | 40,194 |
| 2009 | 33,875 |
| 2010 | 28,653 |
| 2011 | 24,071 |
| 2012 | 20,433 |
| 2013 | 17,091 |
| 2014 | 14,204 |
| 2015 | 11,965 |
| 2016 | 9,990 |
| 2017 | 8,093 |
| 2018 | 6,457 |
| 2019 | 5,040 |
| 2020 | 3,892 |
| 2021 | 2,960 |
| 2022 | 2,324 |
| 2023 | 1,789 |
| 2024 | 1,289 |
| 2025 | 948 |
| 2026 | 872 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Fuel type
Proton cars
All cars in Great Britain
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Proton models
5 Proton models have a page of their own. The most common is the Proton Savvy, with 278 licensed: 31.9% of all Proton cars on the road. The totals above also count models too small for a page of their own.
New Proton cars registered each year
Registrations of new Proton cars in Great Britain were highest at 3,544 in 2001, when this data begins. In 2025, 0 were registered for the first time: 0.00% of all new cars, against 0.14% in 2001, Proton’s best year for share of new cars.
Registered for the first time, by year
| Year | First registrations |
|---|---|
| ’01 | 3,544 |
| ’02 | 2,686 |
| ’03 | 1,833 |
| ’04 | 1,713 |
| ’05 | 1,596 |
| ’06 | 2,651 |
| ’07 | 2,419 |
| ’08 | 1,504 |
| ’09 | 945 |
| ’10 | 761 |
| ’11 | 435 |
| ’12 | 212 |
| ’13 | 26 |
| ’14 | 12 |
| ’15 | 7 |
| ’16 | 14 |
| ’17 | 0 |
| ’18 | 0 |
| ’19 | 4 |
| ’20 | 1 |
| ’21 | 1 |
| ’22 | 0 |
| ’23 | 0 |
| ’24 | 0 |
| ’25 | 0 |
Source:DfT / DVLA 2001 to 2025 Updated
Share of all new cars
Proton’s first registrations as a share of every car registered for the first time in Great Britain that year.
| Year | Share of new cars |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.14% |
| 2002 | 0.10% |
| 2003 | 0.07% |
| 2004 | 0.07% |
| 2005 | 0.07% |
| 2006 | 0.11% |
| 2007 | 0.10% |
| 2008 | 0.07% |
| 2009 | 0.05% |
| 2010 | 0.04% |
| 2011 | 0.02% |
| 2012 | 0.01% |
| 2013 | 0.00% |
| 2014 | 0.00% |
| 2015 | 0.00% |
| 2016 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 0.00% |
| 2021 | 0.00% |
| 2022 | 0.00% |
| 2023 | 0.00% |
| 2024 | 0.00% |
| 2025 | 0.00% |
Source:DfT / DVLA 2001 to 2025 Updated
Proton safety recalls
DVSA lists 8 safety recalls naming a Proton car model since 1992, across 6 models. 0 were launched from 2016 to 2025. A recall naming several Proton models counts once.
Recalls launched each year, 2006 to 2025
| Year | Recalls |
|---|---|
| ’06 | 0 |
| ’07 | 1 |
| ’08 | 1 |
| ’09 | 0 |
| ’10 | 1 |
| ’11 | 0 |
| ’12 | 0 |
| ’13 | 0 |
| ’14 | 0 |
| ’15 | 0 |
| ’16 | 0 |
| ’17 | 0 |
| ’18 | 0 |
| ’19 | 0 |
| ’20 | 0 |
| ’21 | 0 |
| ’22 | 0 |
| ’23 | 0 |
| ’24 | 0 |
| ’25 | 0 |
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis January 1992 to September 2026 Updated
Models with the most recalls
| Model | Recalls |
|---|---|
| Proton Gen 2 | 3 |
| Proton Persona | 2 |
| Proton Compact | 1 |
| Proton Satria | 1 |
| Proton Savvy | 1 |
| Proton Wira | 1 |
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis January 1992 to September 2026 Updated
Latest Proton recalls
- 11 Oct 2010 Short circuit may occur Proton Gen 2
- 7 Mar 2008 Wheel may detach Proton Savvy
- 24 Dec 2007 Jack may fail during wheel change Proton Gen 2
- 9 Jun 2005 Battery harness tie band needs rerouting Proton Gen 2
- 17 Oct 2001 Suspension stabiliser bar may break Proton Satria
Models mostly registered as vans are left out, as on our recalls hub. A recall applies to vehicles built on particular dates or with particular VINs, not to every Proton. To check a specific car, use GOV.UK’s vehicle recall check. How we match recalls to models.
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis January 1992 to September 2026 Updated
Makes of a similar size
| Rank | Make | Licensed | Change on a year | Main fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | Changan | 1,080 | – | Electric |
| 93 | Datsun | 998 | +1.9% | Petrol |
| 94 | Daewoo | 964 | −28.8% | Petrol |
| 95 | Proton | 872 | −25.7% | Petrol |
| 96 | Buick | 738 | −2.3% | Petrol |
| 97 | Renault Trucks | 676 | +26.6% | Diesel |
| 98 | Coleman Milne | 658 | −0.2% | Petrol |
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed and SORN counts | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of March 2026 | 37,339,879 car records (licensed and SORN) | 15 September 2026 |
| Registered for the first time | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | 2001 to 2025 | – | 15 September 2026 |
| Safety recalls | Vehicle safety recalls Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Derived statistics UK Motoring | January 1992 to September 2026 | 7,495 road vehicle recalls (R/) | 15 September 2026 |
- Figures cover Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland is not included.
- Make totals count every car DVLA records under the make, including models too small for a page of their own. The rank is among all 525 makes on the record.
- 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 cars registered in Great Britain for the first time, including used imports.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.