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Darlington motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
114,730 licensed vehicles in Darlington
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 60,278 +2.6% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 456 UK 441
  • Battery electric cars 1,794 3.0% of cars (UK 5.4%)
  • Electric share of private cars 2.6% 158th lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 161 143 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 14.9% UK 9.9%

How many cars are there in Darlington?

There were 60,278 licensed cars in Darlington at the end of March 2026, and 114,730 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 35.1% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 456 for every 1,000 residents, 121st lowest of 361 councils (UK 441).

Licensed vehicles in Darlington

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Darlington at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 54,75344,633
2011 53,52345,129
2012 101,52549,044
2013 102,52648,932
2014 106,88150,111
2015 109,00750,716
2016 107,32051,128
2017 103,97950,961
2018 110,56651,047
2019 109,88150,816
2020 109,86451,464
2021 109,67851,381
2022 118,17558,051
2023 120,65863,079
2024 115,41960,081
2025 111,84358,731
2026 114,73060,278

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, Darlington compared
Year DarlingtonNorth EastUnited Kingdom
2011 426401–
2012 465402–
2013 469405–
2014 478411–
2015 482415473
2016 480420480
2017 478426488
2018 481429490
2019 478435493
2020 477436489
2021 483442493
2022 547439489
2023 556438489
2024 527439490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Darlington

53.2% of cars in Darlington run on petrol and 31.1% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 44.9% in 2018. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 10.6%, and cars that plug in 4.6%.

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 Darlington, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 70.3%29.4%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 67.9%31.7%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2012 60.8%38.7%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 59.6%40.0%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2014 57.4%42.2%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2015 56.1%43.4%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2016 55.3%44.0%0.4%0.0%0.1%
2017 55.0%44.3%0.5%0.1%0.1%
2018 54.2%44.9%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2019 54.6%44.1%0.9%0.1%0.2%
2020 55.0%43.5%1.1%0.1%0.2%
2021 55.3%42.6%1.5%0.3%0.3%
2022 57.6%37.5%3.6%0.6%0.5%
2023 58.2%33.6%6.3%0.9%0.7%
2024 57.0%33.6%6.7%1.5%0.8%
2025 55.1%33.2%7.8%2.1%1.1%
2026 53.2%31.1%10.6%3.0%1.6%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Darlington

1,794 battery electric cars were licensed in Darlington at the end of March 2026, 3.0% of all cars, 110th lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 2,746 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 1,246.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 2.6% are battery electric (1,317 cars), 6th highest of 12 councils in the North East. Companies keep 26.6% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 14.9% of its cars overall. There are also 2,741 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, Darlington compared, end of March each year
Year DarlingtonNorth EastUnited 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%0.2%0.2%
2020 0.1%0.2%0.3%
2021 0.3%0.3%0.7%
2022 0.6%0.6%1.3%
2023 0.9%1.0%2.1%
2024 1.5%1.5%3.0%
2025 2.1%2.3%4.1%
2026 3.0%3.3%5.4%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Darlington

There were 161 public chargers in Darlington on 1 July 2026, 28 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 143 for every 100,000 residents, 174th highest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 0.6% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 13.2 privately kept plug-in cars in Darlington (UK 11.9), 139th 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 Darlington by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 16010
Apr 2026 15510
Jul 2026 16128

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Darlington compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Darlington 14325
North East 15037
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Darlington has 14 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 1.3% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 4.2%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Darlington with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Darlington 001 7,955 337 4.2% 6.1%
Darlington 015 6,928 255 3.7% 5.5%
Darlington 011 5,821 204 3.5% 5.2%
Darlington 010 3,465 114 3.3% 4.9%
Darlington 002 3,500 63 1.8% 2.7%
Darlington 003 3,115 54 1.7% 3.0%
Darlington 013 3,010 39 1.3% 2.0%
Darlington 005 2,807 29 1.0% 2.4%
Darlington 004 2,336 19 0.8% 1.4%
Darlington 006 4,522 35 0.8% 1.9%
Lowest electric shares
Darlington 012 3,142 11 0.4% 1.1%
Darlington 016 4,601 23 0.5% 1.1%
Darlington 014 2,663 22 0.8% 1.5%
Darlington 006 4,522 35 0.8% 1.9%
Darlington 004 2,336 19 0.8% 1.4%

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 Darlington

Vehicles travelled an estimated 546 million miles on roads in Darlington in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in Darlington
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 424
1994 432
1995 440
1996 456
1997 476
1998 485
1999 496
2000 482
2001 493
2002 508
2003 505
2004 498
2005 499
2006 502
2007 496
2008 488
2009 479
2010 472
2011 478
2012 482
2013 481
2014 494
2015 503
2016 497
2017 499
2018 512
2019 526
2020 424
2021 473
2022 514
2023 526
2024 540
2025 546

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Darlington, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 12238
2022 11442
2023 10735
2024 11942
2025 13746

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Darlington

Unleaded petrol averages 170.4p a litre across 11 filling stations in Darlington, 1.3p below the UK average. Diesel averages 194.0p, 0.6p below the UK average. Prices checked 16 Sept, 16:47.

Cheapest petrol

  1. MFG Morrisons Morton Park Yarm Road 167.9p
  2. Asda Darlington Superstore Darlington 168.9p
  3. MFG Morrisons Darlington North Road Darlington 168.9p

Every filling station and price in Darlington

How Darlington compares

Darlington compared with the North East, England, the UK
Darlington 456 3.0% 2.6% 14.9% 143 13.2
North East 422 3.3% 2.7% 5.9% 150 11.8
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 North East

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

Councils in the North East
Newcastle upon Tyne 312 3.8% 2.8% 8.0% 122 11.2
North Tyneside 417 3.7% 3.0% 6.3% 62 28.7
Northumberland 501 3.7% 3.2% 4.4% 238 10.1
Stockton-on-Tees 450 3.4% 2.7% 5.0% 133 14.7
County Durham 450 3.3% 2.8% 5.3% 149 12.9
Gateshead 385 3.2% 2.5% 5.7% 198 7.9
Sunderland 402 3.2% 2.5% 5.2% 192 8.3
Darlington 456 3.0% 2.6% 14.9% 143 13.2
South Tyneside 398 3.0% 2.3% 5.1% 175 11.1
Hartlepool 415 2.8% 2.2% 5.4% 91 14.9
Middlesbrough 382 2.5% 1.8% 5.7% 91 12.3
Redcar and Cleveland 465 2.4% 1.9% 4.9% 103 14.0

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 114,730 licensed vehicles in Darlington 15 September 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 5,801 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 Darlington 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.