How many SEAT Alteas 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 12,318 DVSA MOT tests.
Licensed in Great Britain10,331−16.3% on a year earlier
Declared SORN2,068Off the road, not taxed
MOT first-time pass rate, 202559.1%Cars of the same ages 61.8%
Rank by number licensedNo. 334of 1,159 models we cover
Peak year201428,931 licensed
Average annual mileage6,719miles a year
How many SEAT Alteas are left in Great Britain?
There were 10,331 SEAT Alteas licensed in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, and a further 2,068 declared off the road (SORN).
That is 64.3% fewer than the peak of 28,931 in 2014.
SEAT Alteas licensed in Great Britain
Numbers peaked in 2014 and have fallen every year since, as older cars are scrapped faster than new ones are registered.
In 2025, 59.1% of SEAT Altea MOT tests were passed first time,
against 72.8% for all cars.
Cars of the same ages as the SEAT Alteas tested pass 61.8% of the time, so the SEAT Altea does worse than average for its age, by 2.7 points. In 2024 its pass rate was 58.5%.
MOT first-time pass rate by age: SEAT Altea 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%
11–14 years
15–19 years
20+ years
SEAT Altea
All cars
MOT first-time pass rate by vehicle age, SEAT Altea compared with all cars
Suspension is the most common reason a SEAT Altea fails its MOT,
appearing on 43.3% of failed tests. A failed test can have defects in
more than one category, so shares add up to more than 100%.
10.3% of SEAT Altea tests found at least one dangerous defect, against 7.3% for all cars.
Most common MOT failure categories
Share of failed SEAT Altea MOT tests with at least one defect in each category
The single most common reason a SEAT Altea failed its MOT in 2025 was
“Coil spring: fractured or broken”, on 15.4% of 5,035 failed tests.
68.5% 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 SEAT Altea tests, 2025
Defect
Share of failed tests
Coil spring: fractured or broken Suspension
15.4%
Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure
11.8%
Stop lamp: not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
10.4%
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
9.1%
Position lamp: not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
8.6%
Linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension
8.5%
Service brake performance: excessively binding Brakes
7.6%
Tyres: ply or cords exposed Tyres
7.4%
Tyres: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres
9 years of the SEAT Altea, 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 (60.6% passed first time) and the 2009 cars worst (53.7%).
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.
SEAT Altea annual mileage
The average SEAT Altea covers 6,719 miles a year,
worked out from odometer readings at consecutive MOT tests.
Average annual mileage by age
0
2k
4k
6k
8k
7,920
8–10 years
7,093
11–14 years
6,413
15–19 years
5,807
20+ years
Average annual mileage of a SEAT Altea by vehicle age
Registrations of SEAT Alteas for the first time in Great Britain peaked at 5,975 in 2007. 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
2k
4k
6k
’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
SEAT Alteas registered for the first time in Great Britain, by year
Of the 12,024 SEAT Alteas licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, 48.6% have an engine of 1,501cc to 1,600cc, and 25.9% have an engine of 1,801cc to 1,900cc. The share with an engine of 1,501cc to 1,600cc has grown from 33.3% in 2014 to 48.6%. Diesels made up 80.0% of those licensed in 2014 and 86.2% in 2025.
Engine sizes, end of 2025
DVLA records engine size in 100cc bands.
SEAT Alteas licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, by engine size
Engine size
Share of those licensed
1,501cc to 1,600cc 5,848 licensed
48.6%
1,801cc to 1,900cc 3,120 licensed
25.9%
1,901cc to 2,000cc 2,429 licensed
20.2%
1,301cc to 1,400cc 268 licensed
2.2%
1,601cc to 1,700cc 163 licensed
1.4%
Other sizes 196 licensed
1.6%
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
1,501–1,600cc
Diesel
4,900
40.8%
1,801–1,900cc
Diesel
3,111
25.9%
1,901–2,000cc
Diesel
2,320
19.3%
1,501–1,600cc
Petrol
947
7.9%
1,301–1,400cc
Petrol
268
2.2%
1,101–1,200cc
Petrol
194
1.6%
1,601–1,700cc
Petrol
126
1.0%
Engine sizes, 2014 to 2025
Share of those licensed at the end of each year, for the most common sizes.
SEAT Alteas licensed in the UK by fuel type, share of each year’s total
Year
Diesel
Petrol
2014
80.0%
20.0%
2015
80.6%
19.4%
2016
80.8%
19.2%
2017
81.0%
19.0%
2018
81.4%
18.6%
2019
82.1%
17.9%
2020
82.7%
17.3%
2021
83.3%
16.7%
2022
84.2%
15.8%
2023
84.7%
15.3%
2024
85.3%
14.7%
2025
86.2%
13.8%
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.
SEAT Altea fuel economy and CO2
The Vehicle Certification Agency’s new car data lists the SEAT Altea from 2005 to 2015. On the NEDC test (listings 2005 to 2015), official combined fuel economy for its petrol and diesel versions ranges from 30.1 to 62.8 mpg, with CO2 of 119 to 223 g/km.
Official NEDC figures by engine and fuel, listed 2005 to 2015
Official NEDC figures by engine and fuel, listed 2005 to 2015
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.
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 “Altea”, “Altea XL”, “Altea (from NOV 06 Wk 45 >)”, “Altea XL (from NOV 06 Wk 45 >)”. How we use VCA’s figures.
SEAT Altea safety recalls
DVSA lists 9 safety recalls for the SEAT Altea since 1992, the first in 2005. The most recent was launched on 23 July 2025.
Takata front drivers or passenger airbag replacement
Launched 23 July 2025DVSA recall R/2025/348Manufacturer ref. SD01
Defect
Urgent Safety Warning – Do Not Drive Your Vehicle Issue: The front airbag in your SEAT vehicle contains an ageing inflator propellant that may explode when deployed due to long-term exposure to heat and humidity. Risk: If the airbag inflator explodes metal fragments may be ejected causing life-threatening or fatal injuries to anyone in the vehicle. Immediate Action Required: Stop driving your vehicle immediately. Contact the SEAT Takata Stop Drive helpline at 0113 526 9646 (Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm) to arrange your recall service. Mobility assistance is available if needed.
Remedy
For important safety reasons it is necessary to replace the inflator or driver/passenger seat’s airbag module of your vehicle.
A recall applies to cars built on particular dates or with particular VINs, not to every SEAT Altea. 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.
