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Knowsley motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
80,202 licensed vehicles in Knowsley
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 67,924 +2.5% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 383 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 3,121 4.6% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 3.7% 80th highest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 92 57 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 8.5% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in Knowsley?

There were 67,924 licensed cars in Knowsley at the end of June 2026, and 80,202 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 28.3% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 383 for every 1,000 residents, 58th lowest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in Knowsley

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Knowsley at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 62,25852,954
2011 61,33552,186
2012 60,45651,499
2013 60,51851,795
2014 61,53552,915
2015 62,63753,853
2016 64,34755,114
2017 65,80656,315
2018 66,84657,379
2019 68,65258,871
2020 69,59359,680
2021 72,00661,149
2022 72,91662,017
2023 74,05363,015
2024 76,36764,875
2025 78,09666,279
2026 80,20267,924

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, Knowsley compared
Year KnowsleyNorth WestUnited Kingdom
2011 358429–
2012 352425–
2013 354428–
2014 361433–
2015 366435473
2016 373438480
2017 379440488
2018 382443490
2019 388448493
2020 389446489
2021 395477493
2022 394472489
2023 395472489
2024 399474490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Knowsley

53.7% of cars in Knowsley run on petrol and 29.7% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 39.5% in 2018. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 9.3%, and cars that plug in 6.9%.

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 Knowsley, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 73.7%26.1%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 71.8%28.0%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2012 70.0%29.7%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 68.3%31.4%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 66.5%33.1%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2015 64.2%35.3%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2016 62.1%37.4%0.3%0.1%0.0%
2017 60.7%38.7%0.4%0.1%0.1%
2018 59.8%39.5%0.4%0.1%0.1%
2019 59.8%39.4%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2020 59.6%39.3%0.7%0.1%0.2%
2021 58.9%39.3%1.1%0.3%0.3%
2022 58.3%38.6%1.8%0.5%0.5%
2023 58.2%37.2%2.7%0.9%0.7%
2024 57.2%35.0%4.9%1.6%0.9%
2025 55.3%32.7%7.3%3.0%1.4%
2026 53.7%29.7%9.3%4.6%2.3%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Knowsley

3,121 battery electric cars were licensed in Knowsley at the end of June 2026, 4.6% of all cars, 86th highest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 4,704 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 1,968.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 3.7% are battery electric (2,283 cars), 8th highest of 35 councils in the North West. Companies keep 26.9% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 8.5% of its cars overall. There are also 148 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, Knowsley compared, end of March each year
Year KnowsleyNorth WestUnited 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%0.1%0.2%
2020 0.1%0.2%0.4%
2021 0.3%0.8%0.8%
2022 0.5%1.7%1.5%
2023 0.9%2.9%2.3%
2024 1.6%4.1%3.2%
2025 3.0%5.3%4.4%
2026 4.6%6.6%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Knowsley

There were 92 public chargers in Knowsley on 1 July 2026, 59 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 57 for every 100,000 residents, 14th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 7.1% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 39.4 privately kept plug-in cars in Knowsley (UK 12.9), 12th 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 Knowsley by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 9966
Apr 2026 8855
Jul 2026 9259

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Knowsley compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Knowsley 5736
Merseyside 11126
North West 11240
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Knowsley has 20 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, 5.7%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Knowsley with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Knowsley 017 5,372 307 5.7% 8.3%
Knowsley 007 4,372 196 4.5% 6.8%
Knowsley 016 4,246 161 3.8% 6.5%
Knowsley 008 2,497 90 3.6% 5.5%
Knowsley 012 2,447 87 3.6% 5.6%
Knowsley 014 4,793 171 3.6% 5.5%
Knowsley 009 4,102 141 3.4% 5.4%
Knowsley 011 2,560 86 3.4% 5.6%
Knowsley 002 5,054 163 3.2% 5.0%
Knowsley 005 4,558 143 3.1% 4.9%
Lowest electric shares
Knowsley 013 2,897 64 2.2% 4.3%
Knowsley 010 2,318 52 2.2% 4.0%
Knowsley 004 3,510 79 2.3% 3.8%
Knowsley 003 2,478 57 2.3% 4.8%
Knowsley 019 2,964 70 2.4% 3.8%

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

Road traffic and collisions in Knowsley

Vehicles travelled an estimated 1,056 million miles on roads in Knowsley in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in Knowsley
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 692
1994 703
1995 717
1996 701
1997 729
1998 751
1999 764
2000 777
2001 785
2002 806
2003 799
2004 816
2005 836
2006 835
2007 841
2008 836
2009 839
2010 832
2011 842
2012 844
2013 857
2014 881
2015 895
2016 911
2017 960
2018 979
2019 998
2020 856
2021 935
2022 1,020
2023 989
2024 1,027
2025 1,056

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Knowsley, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 13635
2022 22962
2023 21453
2024 18557
2025 18140

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Knowsley

Unleaded petrol averages 171.5p a litre across 12 filling stations in Knowsley, the same as the UK average. Diesel averages 198.3p, 0.4p below the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. MFG Morrisons Kirkby Kirkby 167.9p
  2. Texaco Gem Knowsley Merseyside 169.0p
  3. Asda Huyton Supercentre Liverpool 169.7p

Every filling station and price in Knowsley

How Knowsley compares

Knowsley compared with Merseyside, the North West, England, the UK
Knowsley 383 4.6% 3.7% 8.5% 57 39.4
Merseyside 390 3.8% 3.0% 7.3% 111 16.8
North West 430 6.6% 3.1% 11.7% 112 18.9
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 Knowsley

There is no DVSA car practical test centre in Knowsley. The nearest centres are elsewhere in Merseyside.

Centres in Merseyside:

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 Merseyside

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

Councils in Merseyside
Knowsley 383 4.6% 3.7% 8.5% 57 39.4
St Helens 453 3.8% 3.0% 6.0% 72 29.5
Wirral 455 3.8% 3.1% 5.8% 71 30.3
Sefton 427 3.7% 3.0% 6.7% 61 34.6
Liverpool 304 3.5% 2.5% 9.4% 196 6.7

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 80,202 licensed vehicles in Knowsley 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 4,901 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 Knowsley 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.