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Charnwood motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
118,358 licensed vehicles in Charnwood
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 94,346 +0.6% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 478 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 3,941 4.2% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 3.5% 114th highest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 148 79 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 4.6% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in Charnwood?

There were 94,346 licensed cars in Charnwood at the end of June 2026, and 118,358 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 22.8% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 478 for every 1,000 residents, 163rd lowest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in Charnwood

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Charnwood at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 92,08976,843
2011 92,92477,709
2012 93,77578,414
2013 97,79480,401
2014 100,57082,299
2015 102,57883,488
2016 105,07684,856
2017 108,32886,996
2018 110,83388,257
2019 114,12490,410
2020 113,93190,109
2021 116,26591,285
2022 119,54891,728
2023 120,37392,198
2024 120,78793,227
2025 120,11493,761
2026 118,35894,346

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, Charnwood compared
Year CharnwoodEast MidlandsUnited Kingdom
2011 469482–
2012 468480–
2013 476485–
2014 481490–
2015 483493473
2016 486496480
2017 492503488
2018 493504490
2019 500509493
2020 495501489
2021 499508493
2022 495505489
2023 493505489
2024 495506490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Charnwood

54.3% of cars in Charnwood run on petrol and 31.3% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 39.1% in 2020. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 7.7%, and cars that plug in 6.4%.

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 Charnwood, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 74.1%25.5%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2011 72.2%27.3%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2012 70.2%29.2%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2013 68.1%31.3%0.4%0.0%0.0%
2014 66.1%33.2%0.5%0.0%0.0%
2015 64.1%35.0%0.6%0.0%0.0%
2016 62.2%36.8%0.7%0.1%0.1%
2017 60.9%37.9%0.9%0.1%0.1%
2018 59.8%38.7%1.1%0.1%0.2%
2019 59.2%38.9%1.4%0.2%0.2%
2020 58.6%39.1%1.6%0.3%0.3%
2021 58.0%38.8%2.0%0.5%0.5%
2022 57.1%38.3%2.7%0.9%0.7%
2023 56.7%37.2%3.5%1.5%0.9%
2024 56.2%35.6%4.6%2.1%1.2%
2025 55.4%33.5%6.1%3.0%1.6%
2026 54.3%31.3%7.7%4.2%2.2%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Charnwood

3,941 battery electric cars were licensed in Charnwood at the end of June 2026, 4.2% of all cars, 129th highest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 5,994 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 2,826.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 3.5% are battery electric (3,119 cars), 13th highest of 35 councils in the East Midlands. Companies keep 20.9% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 4.6% of its cars overall. There are also 222 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, Charnwood compared, end of March each year
Year CharnwoodEast MidlandsUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2017 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2018 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2019 0.2%0.1%0.2%
2020 0.3%0.2%0.4%
2021 0.5%0.5%0.8%
2022 0.9%0.9%1.5%
2023 1.5%1.4%2.3%
2024 2.1%2.0%3.2%
2025 3.0%3.0%4.4%
2026 4.2%4.3%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Charnwood

There were 148 public chargers in Charnwood on 1 July 2026, 56 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 79 for every 100,000 residents, 56th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 5.7% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 32.7 privately kept plug-in cars in Charnwood (UK 12.9), 33rd 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 Charnwood by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 15755
Apr 2026 16255
Jul 2026 14856

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Charnwood compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Charnwood 7930
Leicestershire 11645
East Midlands 12247
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Charnwood has 22 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 3.0% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 4.9%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Charnwood with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Charnwood 016 4,600 225 4.9% 8.3%
Charnwood 014 7,786 327 4.2% 5.7%
Charnwood 010 5,975 243 4.1% 6.4%
Charnwood 008 5,156 207 4.0% 6.4%
Charnwood 012 4,801 185 3.9% 6.7%
Charnwood 015 5,536 200 3.6% 5.5%
Charnwood 022 4,640 162 3.5% 5.2%
Charnwood 011 4,965 171 3.4% 5.1%
Charnwood 005 5,329 172 3.2% 4.6%
Charnwood 019 5,234 167 3.2% 5.3%
Lowest electric shares
Charnwood 002 4,781 43 0.9% 2.2%
Charnwood 017 3,656 63 1.7% 3.3%
Charnwood 021 5,410 108 2.0% 3.3%
Charnwood 004 3,258 69 2.1% 3.5%
Charnwood 003 2,483 54 2.2% 3.0%

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

Road traffic and collisions in Charnwood

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Charnwood, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 17148
2022 13050
2023 15035
2024 19461
2025 16346

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Charnwood

Unleaded petrol averages 172.2p a litre across 13 filling stations in Charnwood, 0.7p above the UK average. Diesel averages 199.9p, 1.2p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. BP MFG Charnwood Loughborough 169.9p
  2. MFG Morrisons Loughborough Maxwell Drive 169.9p
  3. Sainsbury's Loughborough Loughborough 169.9p

Every filling station and price in Charnwood

How Charnwood compares

Charnwood compared with Leicestershire, the East Midlands, England, the UK
Charnwood 478 4.2% 3.5% 4.6% 79 32.7
Leicestershire 525 4.6% 3.7% 7.3% 116 26.2
East Midlands 483 4.3% 3.3% 6.0% 122 20.8
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 Charnwood

There is 1 DVSA car practical test centre in Charnwood, and the highest pass rate in 2025/26 was 42.4% at Loughborough.

Other centres in Leicestershire:

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 Leicestershire

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

Councils in Leicestershire
Harborough 560 5.2% 4.3% 19.3% 126 30.7
North West Leicestershire 547 4.9% 4.1% 4.3% 148 23.1
Blaby 523 4.7% 3.5% 5.6% 192 14.9
Hinckley and Bosworth 553 4.3% 3.6% 3.7% 85 35.8
Charnwood 478 4.2% 3.5% 4.6% 79 32.7
Melton 578 4.2% 3.6% 3.5% 63 53.1
Oadby and Wigston 464 3.8% 3.1% 9.0% 131 18.3

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 118,358 licensed vehicles in Charnwood 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 6,353 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 Charnwood 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.