Car statistics
Volkswagen Passat W8 statistics
How many Volkswagen Passat W8s are still on the road in Great Britain, how many are declared off the road, and how the W8 compares with other versions of the Volkswagen Passat. Built from DVLA licensing records, with MOT results for the Volkswagen Passat.
- Licensed in Great Britain 33 −2.9% on a year earlier
- Declared SORN 90 Off the road, not taxed
- Still registered 47.3% Other Volkswagen Passat versions 14.2%
- Peak year 2005 216 licensed
- Share of Volkswagen Passats 0.1% of those licensed or SORN
- Declared off the road 73.2% of those still registered are SORN
How many Volkswagen Passat W8s are left in Great Britain?
There were 33 Volkswagen Passat W8s licensed in Great Britain at the end of June 2026, and a further 90 declared off the road (SORN). The licensed count is 84.7% lower than its peak of 216 in 2005. More are declared SORN than are licensed: 73.2% of those still registered are off the road.
Volkswagen Passat W8s licensed and SORN in Great Britain
This data records SORN from 2007, so the SORN line starts there.
| Year | Licensed | Declared SORN |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 149 | – |
| 2003 | 208 | – |
| 2004 | 216 | – |
| 2005 | 216 | – |
| 2006 | 212 | – |
| 2007 | 214 | 2 |
| 2008 | 205 | 1 |
| 2009 | 186 | 7 |
| 2010 | 178 | 8 |
| 2011 | 161 | 15 |
| 2012 | 146 | 16 |
| 2013 | 130 | 24 |
| 2014 | 111 | 23 |
| 2015 | 107 | 27 |
| 2016 | 100 | 36 |
| 2017 | 85 | 45 |
| 2018 | 74 | 57 |
| 2019 | 76 | 62 |
| 2020 | 70 | 61 |
| 2021 | 57 | 73 |
| 2022 | 57 | 75 |
| 2023 | 45 | 83 |
| 2024 | 45 | 78 |
| 2025 | 31 | 91 |
| 2026 | 33 | 90 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
Fuel type
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
How many Volkswagen Passat W8s have survived?
47.3% of the Volkswagen Passat W8s first registered since 2001 are still registered, licensed or SORN. For other versions of the Volkswagen Passat first registered in the same years, the figure is 14.2%, so Volkswagen Passat W8s are 3.3 times as likely to have survived.
Share still registered (licensed or SORN)
Compared with 5 other versions of the Volkswagen Passat first registered in the same years.
| Version | Share still registered |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Passat W8 | 47.3% |
| Other Volkswagen Passat versions of the same age | 14.2% |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
Volkswagen Passat W8 registrations over time
Registrations of Volkswagen Passat W8s for the first time in Great Britain peaked at 175 in 2002. In 2025, 0 were registered.
Registered for the first time, by year
| Year | First registrations |
|---|---|
| ’02 | 175 |
| ’03 | 51 |
| ’04 | 15 |
| ’05 | 6 |
| ’06 | 1 |
| ’07 | 1 |
| ’08 | 1 |
| ’09 | 1 |
| ’10 | 0 |
| ’11 | 0 |
| ’12 | 0 |
| ’13 | 0 |
| ’14 | 1 |
| ’15 | 0 |
| ’16 | 0 |
| ’17 | 2 |
| ’18 | 2 |
| ’19 | 4 |
| ’20 | 0 |
| ’21 | 0 |
| ’22 | 0 |
| ’23 | 0 |
| ’24 | 0 |
| ’25 | 0 |
Source:DfT / DVLA 2001 to 2025 Updated
Volkswagen Passat MOT reliability
In 2025, 71.5% of Volkswagen Passat MOT tests were passed first time, against 72.8% for all cars. Cars of the same ages pass 69.6% of the time, so the Volkswagen Passat does better than average for its age, by 1.9 points.
DVSA's MOT results name the model, not the version, so these figures cover all Volkswagen Passats tested, the W8 among them. For the full breakdown, including defects in detail and results year by year, see the Volkswagen Passat page.
MOT first-time pass rate by age: Volkswagen Passat vs all cars
Each bar pair covers cars of the same age, so an older fleet does not count against the model.
| Vehicle age | Volkswagen Passat | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 87.1% | 89.5% |
| 4–5 years | 88.3% | 87.6% |
| 6–7 years | 84.6% | 83.0% |
| 8–10 years | 78.9% | 75.7% |
| 11–14 years | 66.5% | 65.5% |
| 15–19 years | 61.2% | 58.0% |
| 20+ years | 60.5% | 61.0% |
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis 2025 Updated
Most common MOT failure categories
Suspension is the most common reason a Volkswagen Passat fails. A failed test can have defects in more than one category.
| Defect category | Share of failed tests |
|---|---|
| Suspension | 42.8% |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 29.8% |
| Tyres | 29.1% |
| Brakes | 17.2% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 13.0% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 13.0% |
Source:DVSA,UK Motoring analysis 2025 Updated
Other versions of the Volkswagen Passat
Versions of the Volkswagen Passat with their own page. The Volkswagen Passat page covers all 159,838 licensed, whatever the version.
| Version | Licensed | SORN | Still registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Passat R36 | 99 | 34 | 73.5% |
| Volkswagen Passat W8 | 33 | 90 | 47.3% |
| Volkswagen Passat V6 Syncro | 21 | 79 | 9.5% |
Data stories to read next
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed and SORN counts | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of June 2026 | 123 Volkswagen Passat W8 records (licensed and SORN) | 2 October 2026 |
| MOT results (whole model) | Anonymised MOT tests and results Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2025 | 175,720 MOT tests | 15 September 2026 |
| Registered for the first time | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | 2001 to 2025 | – | 2 October 2026 |
- 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, from 2007.
- This version groups DVLA’s detailed model names “PASSAT W8 4MOTION TIPTRONIC”, “PASSAT W8 4MOTION”. Engine size, gearbox, number of doors and fuel are ignored, so every engine and gearbox counts together.
- Survival compares the number still registered (licensed or SORN) with the number first registered since 2001. Other versions are those of the same model with the same average year of first registration.
- First registrations count vehicles registered in Great Britain for the first time, including used imports.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.