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Burnley motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
49,520 licensed vehicles in Burnley
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 41,527 +2.9% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 393 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 1,177 2.8% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 2.2% 59th lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 107 108 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 6.2% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in Burnley?

There were 41,527 licensed cars in Burnley at the end of June 2026, and 49,520 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 21.3% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 393 for every 1,000 residents, 69th lowest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in Burnley

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Burnley at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 40,37334,233
2011 40,07134,009
2012 39,83833,712
2013 39,91633,863
2014 40,51734,478
2015 41,01034,864
2016 41,79835,467
2017 42,68236,262
2018 43,17536,715
2019 43,98637,298
2020 44,05437,479
2021 45,15438,155
2022 45,32138,220
2023 45,94038,782
2024 46,86539,473
2025 47,90940,367
2026 49,52041,527

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, Burnley compared
Year BurnleyNorth WestUnited Kingdom
2011 391429–
2012 385425–
2013 386428–
2014 388433–
2015 391435473
2016 395438480
2017 399440488
2018 399443490
2019 401448493
2020 399446489
2021 403477493
2022 399472489
2023 398472489
2024 398474490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Burnley

51.9% of cars in Burnley run on petrol and 35.3% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 42.5% in 2019. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 8.1%, and cars that plug in 4.4%.

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 Burnley, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 73.1%26.7%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 70.9%28.8%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2012 68.5%31.3%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2013 66.7%33.0%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 64.5%35.1%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2015 62.6%36.9%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2016 60.6%38.8%0.3%0.0%0.1%
2017 58.7%40.7%0.3%0.1%0.1%
2018 57.4%41.9%0.4%0.1%0.1%
2019 56.7%42.5%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2020 56.6%42.3%0.7%0.1%0.1%
2021 56.2%42.0%1.1%0.3%0.3%
2022 55.6%41.5%1.8%0.6%0.4%
2023 55.1%40.6%2.6%0.9%0.5%
2024 54.3%39.3%4.0%1.3%0.8%
2025 53.3%37.4%5.9%1.9%1.1%
2026 51.9%35.3%8.1%2.8%1.6%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Burnley

1,177 battery electric cars were licensed in Burnley at the end of June 2026, 2.8% of all cars, 53rd lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 1,825 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 779.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 2.2% are battery electric (851 cars), 6th lowest of 35 councils in the North West. Companies keep 27.7% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 6.2% of its cars overall. There are also 40 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, Burnley compared, end of March each year
Year BurnleyNorth WestUnited Kingdom
2016 0.0%0.1%0.1%
2017 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2018 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2019 0.1%0.1%0.2%
2020 0.1%0.2%0.4%
2021 0.3%0.8%0.8%
2022 0.6%1.7%1.5%
2023 0.9%2.9%2.3%
2024 1.3%4.1%3.2%
2025 1.9%5.3%4.4%
2026 2.8%6.6%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Burnley

There were 107 public chargers in Burnley on 1 July 2026, 22 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 108 for every 100,000 residents, 109th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 12.3% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 13.0 privately kept plug-in cars in Burnley (UK 12.9), 119th 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 Burnley by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 12231
Apr 2026 10722
Jul 2026 10722

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Burnley compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Burnley 10822
Lancashire 11346
North West 11240
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Burnley has 12 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 1.5% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 3.6%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Burnley with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Burnley 005 4,327 156 3.6% 5.3%
Burnley 009 3,760 132 3.5% 5.6%
Burnley 011 4,184 139 3.3% 5.1%
Burnley 006 2,993 58 1.9% 3.0%
Burnley 008 3,043 53 1.7% 3.1%
Burnley 004 4,258 62 1.5% 2.4%
Burnley 001 4,705 68 1.4% 3.0%
Burnley 010 3,488 48 1.4% 2.5%
Burnley 014 4,918 64 1.3% 2.8%
Burnley 002 2,612 17 0.7% 1.9%
Lowest electric shares
Burnley 003 3,493 5 0.1% 0.9%
Burnley 007 2,168 5 0.2% 1.0%
Burnley 002 2,612 17 0.7% 1.9%
Burnley 014 4,918 64 1.3% 2.8%
Burnley 010 3,488 48 1.4% 2.5%

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

Road traffic and collisions in Burnley

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Burnley, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 15247
2022 18060
2023 16745
2024 17658
2025 16759

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Burnley

Unleaded petrol averages 170.9p a litre across 9 filling stations in Burnley, 0.6p below the UK average. Diesel averages 195.7p, 3.0p below the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Asda Burnley Superstore Burnley 168.7p
  2. Essar Monarch Garage Burnley 168.9p
  3. Tesco Burnley Extra Burnley 169.9p

Every filling station and price in Burnley

How Burnley compares

Burnley compared with Lancashire, the North West, England, the UK
Burnley 393 2.8% 2.2% 6.2% 108 13.0
Lancashire 468 3.9% 3.2% 5.3% 113 20.7
North West 430 6.6% 3.1% 11.7% 112 18.9
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 Burnley

There is no DVSA car practical test centre in Burnley. The nearest centres are elsewhere in Lancashire.

Centres in Lancashire:

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 Lancashire

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

Councils in Lancashire
Chorley 506 4.7% 4.0% 4.2% 124 24.4
Ribble Valley 546 4.7% 4.2% 3.8% 123 30.3
West Lancashire 491 4.7% 3.7% 6.5% 76 37.0
South Ribble 527 4.4% 3.8% 4.3% 167 17.6
Fylde 533 4.3% 3.6% 4.9% 133 23.0
Wyre 508 4.0% 3.3% 4.8% 136 19.0
Preston 396 3.9% 3.0% 7.2% 79 24.4
Rossendale 476 3.5% 2.9% 5.3% 179 13.1
Lancaster 438 3.3% 2.8% 4.2% 135 13.6
Hyndburn 421 2.9% 2.1% 6.7% 58 24.9
Burnley 393 2.8% 2.2% 6.2% 108 13.0
Pendle 425 2.5% 2.0% 6.0% 63 22.5

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 49,520 licensed vehicles in Burnley 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 1,889 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 Burnley 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.