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City of London motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
3,804 licensed vehicles in City of London
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 2,693 +0.2% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 79 UK 441
  • Battery electric cars 863 32.0% of cars (UK 5.4%)
  • Electric share of private cars 7.8% the highest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 67 443 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 55.7% UK 9.9%

Company fleets. 55.7% of cars registered in the City of London have a company as their keeper, against 9.9% across the UK. DVLA counts company cars at the company’s registered address, so leasing and rental fleets land where those firms are based and move when they move. The figures for privately kept cars are the better guide to local drivers.

How many cars are there in the City of London?

There were 2,693 licensed cars in the City of London at the end of March 2026, and 3,804 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 8.4% fewer cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 79 for every 1,000 residents, the lowest of 361 councils (UK 441).

Licensed vehicles in the City of London

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in the City of London at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 3,7752,940
2011 3,6992,901
2012 3,8162,924
2013 3,7182,808
2014 3,4282,595
2015 3,3502,591
2016 3,2842,594
2017 3,2112,587
2018 3,1242,477
2019 3,0432,410
2020 2,9702,337
2021 2,8302,218
2022 2,9222,266
2023 3,2422,473
2024 3,0472,255
2025 3,5582,687
2026 3,8042,693

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, the City of London compared
Year City of LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
2011 394313–
2012 386307–
2013 371303–
2014 341303–
2015 338303473
2016 336304480
2017 319306488
2018 301303490
2019 274301493
2020 278296489
2021 254300493
2022 213295489
2023 180290489
2024 154287490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in the City of London

35.9% of cars in the City of London run on petrol and 14.1% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 45.0% in 2016. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 7.8%, and cars that plug in 41.2%.

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 the City of London, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 63.4%33.6%2.5%0.2%0.0%
2011 60.2%36.6%2.7%0.2%0.0%
2012 55.3%41.0%3.0%0.1%0.1%
2013 54.8%41.5%3.1%0.2%0.0%
2014 54.2%42.2%3.0%0.1%0.0%
2015 51.8%43.3%3.3%0.5%0.4%
2016 49.7%45.0%3.0%0.9%0.8%
2017 49.9%41.8%4.1%1.7%1.9%
2018 52.3%38.6%4.3%1.6%2.7%
2019 53.7%37.3%3.1%2.2%3.3%
2020 54.6%33.5%3.9%3.4%4.2%
2021 54.3%29.1%4.6%6.2%5.4%
2022 53.0%25.2%5.3%10.3%5.7%
2023 51.9%19.7%5.5%15.6%6.6%
2024 48.7%19.0%7.3%15.4%8.4%
2025 37.8%15.1%6.8%30.6%8.7%
2026 35.9%14.1%7.8%32.0%9.2%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Electric cars in the City of London

863 battery electric cars were licensed in the City of London at the end of March 2026, 32.0% of all cars, 3rd highest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 1,110 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 822.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 7.8% are battery electric (93 cars), the highest of 33 councils in London. Companies keep 89.2% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 55.7% of its cars overall. There are also 74 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, the City of London compared, end of March each year
Year City of LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
2016 0.9%0.1%0.1%
2017 1.7%0.2%0.1%
2018 1.6%0.2%0.1%
2019 2.2%0.3%0.2%
2020 3.4%0.5%0.3%
2021 6.2%0.9%0.7%
2022 10.3%1.8%1.3%
2023 15.6%2.9%2.1%
2024 15.4%4.2%3.0%
2025 30.6%5.4%4.1%
2026 32.0%6.6%5.4%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in the City of London

There were 67 public chargers in the City of London on 1 July 2026, 7 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 443 for every 100,000 residents, 18th highest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 42.2% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 2.5 privately kept plug-in cars in the City of London (UK 11.9), 10th 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 the City of London by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 1167
Apr 2026 677
Jul 2026 677

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, the City of London compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
City of London 44346
London 34528
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Road traffic and collisions in the City of London

Vehicles travelled an estimated 71 million miles on roads in the City of London in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in the City of London
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 124
1994 126
1995 127
1996 130
1997 133
1998 135
1999 134
2000 132
2001 127
2002 122
2003 121
2004 124
2005 121
2006 123
2007 121
2008 112
2009 106
2010 104
2011 102
2012 99
2013 99
2014 101
2015 101
2016 99
2017 96
2018 93
2019 93
2020 73
2021 80
2022 75
2023 74
2024 74
2025 71

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in the City of London, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 14741
2022 17560
2023 17444
2024 16654
2025 21466

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

More road safety figures

How the City of London compares

City of London compared with London, England, the UK
City of London 79 32.0% 7.8% 55.7% 443 2.5
London 263 6.6% 3.7% 9.4% 345 5.5
England 437 5.8% 2.9% 10.6% 173 12.4
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 London

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

Councils in London
Westminster 178 55.1% 7.6% 57.8% 1,378 1.7
City of London 79 32.0% 7.8% 55.7% 443 2.5
Hammersmith and Fulham 199 18.3% 5.0% 22.2% 1,380 1.4
Camden 158 9.5% 7.5% 12.3% 378 5.3
Kensington and Chelsea 238 7.4% 6.6% 8.0% 637 4.7
Brent 231 7.1% 3.8% 12.5% 367 4.8
Barnet 321 6.4% 5.2% 7.0% 288 9.6
Islington 132 5.9% 4.5% 11.6% 386 3.5
Richmond upon Thames 358 5.4% 4.5% 5.5% 642 4.8
Harrow 335 5.2% 4.0% 6.1% 120 20.9
Hillingdon 361 5.2% 3.2% 15.5% 121 19.8
Merton 293 5.0% 4.1% 5.6% 436 5.3
Southwark 161 5.0% 4.2% 8.1% 618 2.0
Wandsworth 214 5.0% 4.2% 5.0% 532 3.4
Kingston upon Thames 353 4.9% 4.2% 3.9% 242 10.8
Tower Hamlets 127 4.9% 3.6% 10.9% 776 1.6
Ealing 272 4.6% 3.5% 7.5% 264 7.2
Hackney 137 4.5% 3.3% 10.4% 638 1.5
Haringey 213 4.5% 3.5% 8.7% 135 10.7
Lambeth 176 4.4% 3.6% 6.5% 244 5.2
Redbridge 301 4.4% 3.5% 7.1% 198 11.5
Barking and Dagenham 262 4.2% 2.9% 8.4% 100 18.6
Bromley 407 4.2% 3.5% 4.3% 67 39.1
Croydon 316 4.1% 3.3% 5.4% 153 12.9
Hounslow 299 4.1% 3.1% 6.7% 233 8.7
Sutton 377 4.0% 3.3% 4.2% 118 19.8
Greenwich 238 3.9% 3.2% 6.3% 101 14.8
Havering 387 3.6% 2.7% 6.0% 95 23.6
Newham 167 3.6% 2.8% 9.3% 159 7.6
Waltham Forest 250 3.5% 2.7% 7.6% 663 2.1
Enfield 333 3.4% 2.7% 6.8% 137 17.3
Lewisham 232 3.4% 2.9% 5.6% 133 11.4
Bexley 381 3.3% 2.8% 6.2% 269 7.5

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 3,804 licensed vehicles in City of London 15 September 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 1,201 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
  • Coverage: licensing and charger figures cover the whole UK. Licensing figures in the City of London 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.
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.