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England motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
35,431,422 licensed vehicles in England
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 28,873,498 +1.7% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 440 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 1,779,931 6.2% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 3.2% UK 3.1%
  • Public chargers 101,258 173 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 10.7% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in England?

There were 28,873,498 licensed cars in England at the end of June 2026, and 35,431,422 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 19.3% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 440 for every 1,000 residents (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in England

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in England at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 29,129,33724,192,968
2011 29,240,77524,264,197
2012 29,347,48124,351,465
2013 29,737,17524,670,969
2014 30,350,31625,146,834
2015 30,822,26625,526,158
2016 31,508,28826,048,288
2017 32,231,09026,596,349
2018 32,549,08326,831,421
2019 32,975,84927,129,520
2020 32,635,83326,888,853
2021 33,350,89427,241,319
2022 33,575,03827,330,432
2023 33,988,18227,646,580
2024 34,436,62428,027,991
2025 34,852,61228,379,003
2026 35,431,42228,873,498

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, England compared
Year EnglandUnited Kingdom
2011 457–
2012 455–
2013 458–
2014 463–
2015 466473
2016 471480
2017 478488
2018 480490
2019 483493
2020 477489
2021 482493
2022 478489
2023 477489
2024 478490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in England

54.2% of cars in England run on petrol and 27.0% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 38.9% in 2018. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 9.1%, and cars that plug in 9.3%.

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 England, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 71.9%27.6%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2011 70.0%29.5%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2012 68.0%31.4%0.4%0.0%0.0%
2013 66.1%33.2%0.5%0.0%0.0%
2014 64.2%35.0%0.6%0.0%0.0%
2015 62.4%36.6%0.7%0.1%0.1%
2016 60.7%38.0%0.8%0.1%0.1%
2017 59.6%38.9%1.0%0.1%0.2%
2018 59.2%38.9%1.2%0.2%0.4%
2019 59.5%38.2%1.5%0.2%0.5%
2020 59.5%37.6%1.8%0.4%0.6%
2021 59.3%36.2%2.5%0.9%0.9%
2022 58.8%34.8%3.3%1.6%1.2%
2023 58.3%33.0%4.3%2.5%1.5%
2024 57.5%31.0%5.7%3.5%1.9%
2025 56.0%29.1%7.3%4.7%2.4%
2026 54.2%27.0%9.1%6.2%3.1%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in England

1,779,931 battery electric cars were licensed in England at the end of June 2026, 6.2% of all cars. With plug-in hybrids, 2,679,414 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 1,332,975.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 3.2% are battery electric (829,449 cars). Companies keep 53.4% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 10.7% of its cars overall. There are also 114,889 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, England compared, end of March each year
Year EnglandUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.1%
2017 0.1%0.1%
2018 0.2%0.1%
2019 0.2%0.2%
2020 0.4%0.4%
2021 0.9%0.8%
2022 1.6%1.5%
2023 2.5%2.3%
2024 3.5%3.2%
2025 4.7%4.4%
2026 6.2%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in England

There were 101,258 public chargers in England on 1 July 2026, 23,874 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 173 for every 100,000 residents, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 17.6% from 1 January 2025.

For every public charger there are 13.4 privately kept plug-in cars in England (UK 12.9). A higher number means more competition for each public charger, though many drivers charge at home.

Public chargers

Public EV chargers in England by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2025 86,08519,031
Apr 2025 88,17419,528
Jul 2025 91,77220,164
Oct 2025 95,49620,888
Jan 2026 97,23521,797
Apr 2026 99,55122,585
Jul 2026 101,25823,874

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, England compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
England 17341
UK 17542
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Petrol and diesel prices in England

Unleaded petrol averages 172.0p a litre across 4,607 filling stations in England, 0.5p above the UK average. Diesel averages 199.1p, 0.4p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Gordale Service Station Neston 153.9p
  2. Costco Wholesale Chester Chester 156.9p
  3. Costco Wholesale Manchester Manchester 158.9p

Every filling station and price in England

How England compares

England compared with the UK, the UK
England 440 6.2% 3.2% 10.7% 173 13.4
United Kingdom4445.8%3.1%10.0%17512.9
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 England

There are 12 DVSA car practical test centres in England, and the highest pass rate in 2025/26 was 75.0% at Isles of Scilly.

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.

Regions of England

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

Regions of England
South East 499 9.3% 3.5% 18.5% 159 17.7
London 264 7.0% 3.9% 9.8% 345 5.8
North West 430 6.6% 3.1% 11.7% 112 18.9
East of England 501 5.6% 3.2% 8.7% 150 17.3
Yorkshire and the Humber 440 5.5% 3.0% 9.2% 111 19.6
South West 509 5.2% 2.9% 9.6% 157 14.4
East Midlands 483 4.3% 3.3% 6.0% 122 20.8
West Midlands 459 3.7% 2.9% 6.1% 164 12.9
North East 424 3.6% 3.0% 5.8% 150 12.8

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 35,431,422 licensed vehicles in England 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 2,845,010 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
  • Coverage: licensing and charger figures cover the whole UK. Licensing figures in England 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.