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Coventry motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
176,778 licensed vehicles in Coventry
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 152,251 +1.8% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 384 UK 441
  • Battery electric cars 3,832 2.5% of cars (UK 5.4%)
  • Electric share of private cars 1.9% 52nd lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 2,644 717 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 6.9% UK 9.9%

How many cars are there in Coventry?

There were 152,251 licensed cars in Coventry at the end of March 2026, and 176,778 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 27.5% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 384 for every 1,000 residents, 65th lowest of 361 councils (UK 441).

Licensed vehicles in Coventry

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Coventry at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 143,492119,431
2011 196,627128,439
2012 147,266121,381
2013 154,616122,774
2014 197,135131,418
2015 201,527134,384
2016 206,770137,686
2017 165,955135,220
2018 167,066136,786
2019 161,316138,488
2020 162,901140,156
2021 162,522139,472
2022 165,407141,784
2023 168,125144,189
2024 171,162147,404
2025 173,217149,515
2026 176,778152,251

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, Coventry compared
Year CoventryWest MidlandsUnited Kingdom
2011 406506–
2012 383502–
2013 403503–
2014 408500–
2015 409506473
2016 394513480
2017 399523488
2018 400524490
2019 405519493
2020 401515489
2021 410485493
2022 405480489
2023 406479489
2024 401476490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Coventry

54.4% of cars in Coventry run on petrol and 32.5% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 39.3% in 2021. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 7.9%, and cars that plug in 4.8%.

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 Coventry, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 75.0%24.7%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 69.4%30.1%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2012 70.9%28.7%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 69.0%30.5%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 64.5%34.7%0.6%0.0%0.0%
2015 62.9%36.2%0.6%0.0%0.0%
2016 61.4%37.6%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2017 61.9%37.3%0.5%0.1%0.1%
2018 60.9%38.1%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2019 60.2%38.6%0.8%0.1%0.1%
2020 59.3%39.1%1.0%0.2%0.2%
2021 58.3%39.3%1.4%0.4%0.4%
2022 57.3%38.8%2.1%0.8%0.8%
2023 56.8%37.5%3.0%1.1%1.3%
2024 56.1%36.2%4.5%1.5%1.5%
2025 55.4%34.4%6.2%1.9%1.8%
2026 54.4%32.5%7.9%2.5%2.3%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Coventry

3,832 battery electric cars were licensed in Coventry at the end of March 2026, 2.5% of all cars, 44th lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 7,344 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 2,797.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 1.9% are battery electric (2,644 cars), 4th lowest of 30 councils in the West Midlands. Companies keep 31.0% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 6.9% of its cars overall. There are also 223 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, Coventry compared, end of March each year
Year CoventryWest MidlandsUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2017 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2018 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2019 0.1%0.2%0.2%
2020 0.2%0.4%0.3%
2021 0.4%0.6%0.7%
2022 0.8%1.1%1.3%
2023 1.1%1.3%2.1%
2024 1.5%1.7%3.0%
2025 1.9%2.5%4.1%
2026 2.5%3.4%5.4%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Coventry

There were 2,644 public chargers in Coventry on 1 July 2026, 129 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 717 for every 100,000 residents, 4th highest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 1.6% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 1.7 privately kept plug-in cars in Coventry (UK 11.9), 6th 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 Coventry by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 2,602123
Apr 2026 2,613121
Jul 2026 2,644129

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Coventry compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Coventry 71735
West Midlands (county) 19437
West Midlands 16446
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Coventry has 42 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 Coventry with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Coventry 034 4,382 158 3.6% 5.5%
Coventry 042 2,938 102 3.5% 6.1%
Coventry 036 3,758 120 3.2% 5.0%
Coventry 025 4,865 144 3.0% 4.2%
Coventry 040 4,824 135 2.8% 4.5%
Coventry 010 4,639 123 2.7% 4.5%
Coventry 041 3,403 88 2.6% 3.7%
Coventry 002 4,493 110 2.4% 3.8%
Coventry 033 5,263 111 2.1% 3.6%
Coventry 039 2,998 62 2.1% 3.1%
Lowest electric shares
Coventry 028 2,507 6 0.2% 1.4%
Coventry 009 2,673 10 0.4% 1.5%
Coventry 012 2,863 21 0.7% 1.9%
Coventry 020 3,373 32 0.9% 2.2%
Coventry 016 3,490 30 0.9% 1.7%

Privately kept licensed vehicles of all types at the end of March 2026. 3 neighbourhoods are left out because DfT withholds small counts there.

Road traffic and collisions in Coventry

Vehicles travelled an estimated 1,244 million miles on roads in Coventry in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in Coventry
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 996
1994 1,010
1995 1,022
1996 1,036
1997 1,045
1998 1,066
1999 1,087
2000 1,082
2001 1,090
2002 1,123
2003 1,118
2004 1,132
2005 1,132
2006 1,128
2007 1,134
2008 1,110
2009 1,112
2010 1,106
2011 1,118
2012 1,116
2013 1,099
2014 1,156
2015 1,170
2016 1,212
2017 1,224
2018 1,211
2019 1,227
2020 951
2021 1,069
2022 1,158
2023 1,203
2024 1,230
2025 1,244

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Coventry, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 42073
2022 41078
2023 39396
2024 37274
2025 404101

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Coventry

Unleaded petrol averages 171.6p a litre across 29 filling stations in Coventry, 0.1p below the UK average. Diesel averages 194.3p, 0.3p below the UK average. Prices checked 16 Sept, 16:47.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Costco Wholesale Coventry Coventry 160.9p
  2. Sainsbury's Canley Coventry 166.9p
  3. Tesco Cannon Park Centre Superstore Coventry 168.9p

Every filling station and price in Coventry

How Coventry compares

Coventry compared with the West Midlands metropolitan county, the West Midlands, England, the UK
Coventry 384 2.5% 1.9% 6.9% 717 1.7
West Midlands (county) 391 3.1% 2.0% 7.4% 194 7.0
West Midlands 455 3.4% 2.5% 6.1% 164 11.6
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 the West Midlands metropolitan county

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

Councils in the West Midlands metropolitan county
Solihull 495 7.2% 3.1% 13.1% 278 9.4
Dudley 470 3.0% 2.3% 5.0% 104 15.9
Walsall 416 2.7% 2.0% 5.8% 66 21.3
Wolverhampton 400 2.7% 1.9% 5.9% 69 20.0
Birmingham 345 2.6% 1.8% 8.0% 135 8.1
Coventry 384 2.5% 1.9% 6.9% 717 1.7
Sandwell 380 2.4% 1.6% 6.5% 88 16.7

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 176,778 licensed vehicles in Coventry 15 September 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 7,718 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 Coventry 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.