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Braintree motoring statistics

How many cars and electric cars are registered in Braintree, which fuels they use, how many public chargers there are and how Braintree compares with the East of England. From DVLA licensing records, DfT charger statistics and ONS population estimates.

Last updated
Records analysed
113,973 licensed vehicles in Braintree
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 91,966 +1.4% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 537 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 2,988 3.2% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 2.7% 120th lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 146 89 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 4.1% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in Braintree?

There were 91,966 licensed cars in Braintree at the end of June 2026, and 113,973 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 20.4% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 537 for every 1,000 residents, 89th highest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in Braintree

Counts at the end of March each year, 2010 to 2026.

Licensed cars and vehicles in Braintree at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 93,85776,365
2011 94,84577,311
2012 95,36177,911
2013 96,23778,780
2014 97,86080,031
2015 99,08580,959
2016 101,19782,458
2017 102,84783,632
2018 103,92284,409
2019 105,39485,311
2020 104,55684,913
2021 107,45586,561
2022 108,62487,101
2023 109,61388,415
2024 111,25489,816
2025 112,47590,732
2026 113,97391,966

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Licensed vehicles by type

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Cars per 1,000 residents

All licensed cars at the end of June, divided by the ONS mid-year population. Company fleets registered locally push this up.

Cars per 1,000 residents at mid-year, Braintree compared
Year BraintreeEast of EnglandUnited Kingdom
2011 524503–
2012 525502–
2013 528505–
2014 532524–
2015 537529473
2016 543537480
2017 549544488
2018 554542490
2019 556541493
2020 551536489
2021 556539493
2022 553532489
2023 551529489
2024 547531490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Braintree

58.2% of cars in Braintree run on petrol and 29.0% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 37.3% in 2018. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 7.2%, and cars that plug in 5.2%.

Cars by fuel type

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Fuel mix over time

Share of licensed cars at the end of March each year.

Share of licensed cars by fuel type in Braintree, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 72.5%27.2%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 70.7%28.9%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2012 69.0%30.5%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 67.6%32.0%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 66.1%33.4%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2015 64.6%34.8%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2016 63.3%36.1%0.4%0.1%0.1%
2017 62.3%36.9%0.4%0.1%0.1%
2018 61.7%37.3%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2019 61.6%37.3%0.7%0.1%0.2%
2020 61.5%37.1%0.9%0.2%0.2%
2021 61.3%36.5%1.3%0.4%0.4%
2022 60.6%35.8%2.0%0.8%0.6%
2023 60.5%34.5%2.7%1.2%0.8%
2024 60.1%32.9%4.0%1.7%1.0%
2025 59.3%31.1%5.5%2.3%1.4%
2026 58.2%29.0%7.2%3.2%2.0%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Braintree

2,988 battery electric cars were licensed in Braintree at the end of June 2026, 3.2% of all cars, 96th lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 4,809 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 2,102.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 2.7% are battery electric (2,357 cars), 19th lowest of 45 councils in the East of England. Companies keep 21.1% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 4.1% of its cars overall. There are also 116 battery electric vans.

Battery electric share of licensed cars

End of March each year. Fleet re-registrations can move a single area’s line sharply.

Battery electric share of licensed cars, Braintree compared, end of March each year
Year BraintreeEast of EnglandUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2017 0.1%0.2%0.1%
2018 0.1%0.2%0.1%
2019 0.1%0.2%0.2%
2020 0.2%0.4%0.4%
2021 0.4%0.8%0.8%
2022 0.8%1.2%1.5%
2023 1.2%1.9%2.3%
2024 1.7%2.9%3.2%
2025 2.3%4.1%4.4%
2026 3.2%5.6%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Braintree

There were 146 public chargers in Braintree on 1 July 2026, 58 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 89 for every 100,000 residents, 70th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 2.7% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 27.3 privately kept plug-in cars in Braintree (UK 12.9), 60th most of 361 councils. A higher number means more competition for each public charger, though many drivers charge at home.

Public chargers

Public EV chargers in Braintree by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 15054
Apr 2026 15458
Jul 2026 14658

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Braintree compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Braintree 8935
Essex 9045
East of England 15049
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Braintree has 18 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 2.3% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 3.3%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Braintree with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Braintree 014 7,309 243 3.3% 5.4%
Braintree 018 5,743 182 3.2% 5.6%
Braintree 010 5,629 170 3.0% 5.5%
Braintree 013 6,107 186 3.0% 4.8%
Braintree 006 7,068 195 2.8% 4.5%
Braintree 005 5,318 146 2.7% 4.9%
Braintree 017 6,456 165 2.6% 4.2%
Braintree 002 5,546 127 2.3% 3.8%
Braintree 003 5,711 131 2.3% 3.9%
Braintree 007 6,587 154 2.3% 3.9%
Lowest electric shares
Braintree 016 2,857 7 0.2% 2.1%
Braintree 004 5,334 60 1.1% 1.8%
Braintree 009 5,101 71 1.4% 2.6%
Braintree 011 5,438 94 1.7% 2.5%
Braintree 001 5,870 117 2.0% 3.5%

Privately kept licensed vehicles of all types at the end of June 2026.

Road traffic and collisions in Braintree

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Braintree, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 22453
2022 24978
2023 20160
2024 23567
2025 22877

Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Braintree

Unleaded petrol averages 169.4p a litre across 16 filling stations in Braintree, 2.1p below the UK average. Diesel averages 200.0p, 1.3p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Shell Londonforecourt Limited Braintree 165.9p
  2. Sainsbury's Braintree Braintree 165.9p
  3. Tesco Braintree Great Notley Superstore Braintree 167.9p

Every filling station and price in Braintree

How Braintree compares

Braintree compared with Essex, the East of England, England, the UK
Braintree 537 3.2% 2.7% 4.1% 89 27.3
Essex 511 3.7% 2.9% 6.0% 90 28.6
East of England 501 5.6% 3.2% 8.7% 150 17.3
England 440 6.2% 3.2% 10.7% 173 13.4
United Kingdom4445.8%3.1%10.0%17512.9

Private cars per 1,000 people use the ONS mid-2024 population. Chargers are counted at the latest date; plug-in cars at the end of June 2026.

Driving test centres in Braintree

There is no DVSA car practical test centre in Braintree. The nearest centres are elsewhere in Essex.

Centres in Essex:

DVSA publishes pass rates by centre name, with no address, so centres are placed here by the place name in the name DVSA uses. See pass rates at every test centre.

Councils in Essex

Sorted by battery electric share of cars. Select a column heading to sort by it.

Councils in Essex
Uttlesford 593 4.8% 4.2% 12.0% 164 24.4
Epping Forest 499 4.4% 3.6% 5.3% 126 25.2
Brentwood 501 4.2% 3.2% 4.9% 97 33.0
Chelmsford 504 4.0% 3.3% 4.8% 105 27.0
Basildon 461 3.9% 2.5% 11.9% 62 34.8
Colchester 474 3.6% 2.9% 4.6% 90 24.5
Maldon 605 3.5% 2.9% 3.6% 61 49.5
Rochford 554 3.3% 2.9% 4.0% 76 36.3
Braintree 537 3.2% 2.7% 4.1% 89 27.3
Harlow 444 3.2% 2.5% 4.6% 74 25.7
Tendring 513 2.8% 2.2% 4.8% 84 21.7
Castle Point 534 2.7% 2.2% 3.8% 42 51.7

Data stories to read next

All insights

Data sources and methodology

Datasets used on this page
Figures Source Period Records Updated
Licensed vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 113,973 licensed vehicles in Braintree 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 5,029 plug-in vehicles 26 October 2026
Public chargers Electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics Department for Transport 1 July 2026 121,171 public chargers (UK) 26 October 2026
Population Mid-year population estimates Office for National Statistics Mid-2024 404 areas 26 October 2026
Neighbourhoods Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 35,672 small areas (LSOAs) in England and Wales 26 October 2026
  • Coverage: licensing and charger figures cover the whole UK. Licensing figures in Braintree run from the end of 2009.
  • Vehicles are counted at the registered keeper’s postcode: for company cars that is the company’s address, not where the car is driven.
  • Battery electric and plug-in counts come from table VEH0142; petrol, diesel and hybrid counts from VEH0105. “Other fuels” is VEH0105’s other-fuel count less plug-in cars.
  • Charger counts are based on Zapmap data and are official statistics in development. In June 2026 one operator removed about 1,270 private chargers wrongly listed as public, so April and July are not strictly comparable.
  • Neighbourhood figures cover England and Wales only; Scottish data zones and Northern Irish super data zones cannot be placed in councils without lookups we do not hold.
How we calculate these figures All data sources

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.