My Garage

Popular searches

Wales · Council area

Bridgend motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
98,601 licensed vehicles in Bridgend
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 79,811 +0.9% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 486 UK 441
  • Battery electric cars 3,439 4.3% of cars (UK 5.4%)
  • Electric share of private cars 2.7% 177th lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 215 146 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 10.1% UK 9.9%

How many cars are there in Bridgend?

There were 79,811 licensed cars in Bridgend at the end of March 2026, and 98,601 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 20.1% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 486 for every 1,000 residents, 180th lowest of 361 councils (UK 441).

Licensed vehicles in Bridgend

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Bridgend at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 77,25966,453
2011 77,99267,138
2012 78,24167,290
2013 79,15867,928
2014 80,60269,053
2015 82,72170,788
2016 85,18372,613
2017 86,79273,722
2018 87,57273,986
2019 88,89574,681
2020 90,69376,204
2021 91,48875,950
2022 92,96776,452
2023 94,20277,011
2024 96,18278,447
2025 97,33579,083
2026 98,60179,811

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Licensed vehicles by type

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 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, Bridgend compared
Year BridgendWalesUnited Kingdom
2011 484470–
2012 483471–
2013 488476–
2014 495482–
2015 502486473
2016 510493480
2017 514500488
2018 517504490
2019 520510493
2020 516504489
2021 525513493
2022 524510489
2023 527510489
2024 534514490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Bridgend

54.0% of cars in Bridgend run on petrol and 29.9% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 41.5% in 2018. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 8.8%, and cars that plug in 6.8%.

Cars by fuel type

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 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 Bridgend, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 70.8%29.0%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 68.3%31.4%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2012 66.5%33.2%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 64.7%34.9%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 63.1%36.4%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2015 61.3%38.2%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2016 59.7%39.7%0.4%0.1%0.1%
2017 58.4%40.8%0.5%0.1%0.2%
2018 57.5%41.5%0.6%0.1%0.2%
2019 57.5%41.2%0.9%0.1%0.3%
2020 57.6%40.6%1.1%0.2%0.3%
2021 57.4%39.9%1.6%0.5%0.5%
2022 57.1%38.6%2.4%1.0%0.8%
2023 57.0%36.8%3.4%1.6%1.0%
2024 56.3%34.7%5.0%2.2%1.4%
2025 55.4%32.3%7.0%3.1%1.8%
2026 54.0%29.9%8.8%4.3%2.5%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Bridgend

3,439 battery electric cars were licensed in Bridgend at the end of March 2026, 4.3% of all cars, 80th highest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 5,455 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 2,478.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 2.7% are battery electric (1,910 cars), 3rd highest of 22 councils in Wales. Companies keep 44.5% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 10.1% of its cars overall. There are also 198 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, Bridgend compared, end of March each year
Year BridgendWalesUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.0%0.1%
2017 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2018 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2019 0.1%0.1%0.2%
2020 0.2%0.2%0.3%
2021 0.5%0.3%0.7%
2022 1.0%0.6%1.3%
2023 1.6%0.9%2.1%
2024 2.2%1.3%3.0%
2025 3.1%2.0%4.1%
2026 4.3%2.8%5.4%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Bridgend

There were 215 public chargers in Bridgend on 1 July 2026, 66 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 146 for every 100,000 residents, 168th highest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 0.9% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 14.0 privately kept plug-in cars in Bridgend (UK 11.9), 156th fewest 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 Bridgend by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 21362
Apr 2026 20958
Jul 2026 21566

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Bridgend compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Bridgend 14645
Wales 18643
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Bridgend has 19 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 2.1% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 4.5%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Bridgend with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Bridgend 011 6,392 288 4.5% 6.1%
Bridgend 013 3,892 149 3.8% 6.0%
Bridgend 017 6,328 228 3.6% 5.2%
Bridgend 015 3,778 120 3.2% 4.9%
Bridgend 018 5,752 159 2.8% 4.4%
Bridgend 005 3,551 87 2.5% 3.7%
Bridgend 016 3,091 70 2.3% 3.4%
Bridgend 019 4,381 96 2.2% 3.3%
Bridgend 006 3,756 78 2.1% 3.4%
Bridgend 012 3,519 73 2.1% 3.1%
Lowest electric shares
Bridgend 001 3,148 6 0.2% 1.2%
Bridgend 004 4,091 37 0.9% 1.7%
Bridgend 003 4,475 55 1.2% 2.0%
Bridgend 002 3,876 56 1.4% 2.6%
Bridgend 008 4,931 76 1.5% 2.4%

Privately kept licensed vehicles of all types at the end of March 2026. 1 neighbourhood is left out because DfT withholds small counts there.

Road traffic and collisions in Bridgend

Vehicles travelled an estimated 906 million miles on roads in Bridgend in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in Bridgend
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 599
1994 611
1995 623
1996 648
1997 667
1998 679
1999 707
2000 700
2001 712
2002 739
2003 729
2004 760
2005 745
2006 764
2007 789
2008 761
2009 752
2010 744
2011 747
2012 759
2013 770
2014 814
2015 831
2016 862
2017 870
2018 893
2019 901
2020 697
2021 785
2022 855
2023 860
2024 863
2025 906

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Bridgend, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 9722
2022 10020
2023 8519
2024 7217
2025 6722

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Bridgend

Unleaded petrol averages 169.8p a litre across 18 filling stations in Bridgend, 1.9p below the UK average. Diesel averages 193.1p, 1.5p below the UK average. Prices checked 16 Sept, 16:47.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Murco, Pen-Y-Fai Service Station Bridgend 163.9p
  2. Sainsbury's Bridgend Bridgend 165.9p
  3. Tesco Bridgend Brewery Ln Superstore Bridgend 166.9p

Every filling station and price in Bridgend

How Bridgend compares

Bridgend compared with Wales, the UK
Bridgend 486 4.3% 2.7% 10.1% 146 14.0
Wales 490 2.8% 2.1% 6.2% 186 9.0
United Kingdom4415.4%2.8%9.9%17511.9

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 March 2026.

Councils in Wales

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

Councils in Wales
Bridgend 486 4.3% 2.7% 10.1% 146 14.0
Monmouthshire 578 3.7% 3.2% 4.4% 283 10.6
Vale of Glamorgan 512 3.5% 3.0% 4.6% 139 16.9
Swansea 485 3.4% 2.0% 10.1% 154 11.0
Newport 457 3.2% 2.5% 5.5% 303 6.3
Cardiff 383 3.1% 2.4% 6.4% 118 13.1
Denbighshire 504 3.0% 2.1% 6.3% 179 8.9
Flintshire 555 2.9% 2.3% 4.8% 118 16.3
Conwy 514 2.7% 2.0% 5.7% 152 10.6
Torfaen 496 2.6% 1.9% 6.2% 155 9.5
Carmarthenshire 527 2.5% 1.9% 6.1% 216 7.4
Neath Port Talbot 474 2.5% 1.8% 6.8% 73 33.3
Caerphilly 495 2.4% 1.8% 5.7% 108 14.3
Wrexham 502 2.4% 1.8% 4.9% 204 8.6
Ceredigion 511 2.3% 1.9% 4.6% 306 4.8
Pembrokeshire 535 2.3% 1.8% 5.5% 365 4.1
Powys 549 2.3% 1.8% 5.1% 270 5.9
Rhondda Cynon Taf 470 2.3% 1.8% 6.0% 121 11.3
Isle of Anglesey 552 2.2% 1.6% 4.3% 245 5.7
Gwynedd 493 2.0% 1.5% 4.8% 390 3.0
Merthyr Tydfil 451 2.0% 1.5% 6.6% 139 9.0
Blaenau Gwent 499 1.7% 1.3% 5.3% 228 4.5

Data sources and methodology

Datasets used on this page
Figures Source Period Records Updated
Licensed vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 98,601 licensed vehicles in Bridgend 15 September 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 5,763 plug-in vehicles 15 September 2026
Public chargers Electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics Department for Transport 1 July 2026 121,171 public chargers (UK) 15 September 2026
Population Mid-year population estimates Office for National Statistics Mid-2024 404 areas 15 September 2026
Neighbourhoods Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 35,672 small areas (LSOAs) in England and Wales 15 September 2026
  • Coverage: licensing and charger figures cover the whole UK. Licensing figures in Bridgend 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.