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Lancaster motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
83,481 licensed vehicles in Lancaster
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 66,309 +0.6% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 438 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 2,174 3.3% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 2.8% 140th lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 196 135 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 4.2% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in Lancaster?

There were 66,309 licensed cars in Lancaster at the end of June 2026, and 83,481 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 11.8% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 438 for every 1,000 residents, 100th lowest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in Lancaster

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Lancaster at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 72,09859,328
2011 71,77258,925
2012 71,77258,916
2013 72,04559,182
2014 73,34060,167
2015 73,97460,604
2016 75,02961,274
2017 76,70762,288
2018 77,42462,824
2019 78,45663,500
2020 78,28463,551
2021 80,46864,590
2022 80,57364,351
2023 81,49164,725
2024 82,14565,410
2025 83,03565,918
2026 83,48166,309

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, Lancaster compared
Year LancasterNorth WestUnited Kingdom
2011 428429–
2012 426425–
2013 427428–
2014 435433–
2015 439435473
2016 442438480
2017 449440488
2018 452443490
2019 454448493
2020 451446489
2021 454477493
2022 446472489
2023 446472489
2024 451474490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Lancaster

53.3% of cars in Lancaster run on petrol and 34.3% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 41.5% in 2020. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 7.1%, and cars that plug in 4.8%.

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 Lancaster, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 69.1%30.5%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2011 67.1%32.5%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2012 65.2%34.4%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2013 63.7%35.8%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2014 61.9%37.6%0.4%0.0%0.0%
2015 60.6%38.8%0.4%0.1%0.0%
2016 59.0%40.2%0.5%0.1%0.1%
2017 58.1%41.1%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2018 57.6%41.4%0.8%0.1%0.1%
2019 57.3%41.3%1.0%0.1%0.2%
2020 56.8%41.5%1.2%0.2%0.2%
2021 56.2%41.2%1.7%0.4%0.3%
2022 55.7%40.4%2.4%0.8%0.4%
2023 55.2%39.7%3.1%1.2%0.6%
2024 54.9%38.0%4.3%1.6%0.8%
2025 54.2%36.4%5.5%2.3%1.1%
2026 53.3%34.3%7.1%3.3%1.6%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Lancaster

2,174 battery electric cars were licensed in Lancaster at the end of June 2026, 3.3% of all cars, 112th lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 3,204 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 1,541.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 2.8% are battery electric (1,762 cars), 15th lowest of 35 councils in the North West. Companies keep 19.0% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 4.2% of its cars overall. There are also 159 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, Lancaster compared, end of March each year
Year LancasterNorth 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 0.2%0.2%0.4%
2021 0.4%0.8%0.8%
2022 0.8%1.7%1.5%
2023 1.2%2.9%2.3%
2024 1.6%4.1%3.2%
2025 2.3%5.3%4.4%
2026 3.3%6.6%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Lancaster

There were 196 public chargers in Lancaster on 1 July 2026, 58 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 135 for every 100,000 residents, 168th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 6.7% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 13.6 privately kept plug-in cars in Lancaster (UK 12.9), 128th 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 Lancaster by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 21061
Apr 2026 19358
Jul 2026 19658

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Lancaster compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Lancaster 13540
Lancashire 11346
North West 11240
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Lancaster has 18 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 2.3% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 4.0%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Lancaster with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Lancaster 013 3,455 139 4.0% 5.5%
Lancaster 005 4,355 149 3.4% 5.1%
Lancaster 019 4,721 154 3.3% 4.7%
Lancaster 017 4,652 148 3.2% 4.7%
Lancaster 002 5,215 161 3.1% 4.8%
Lancaster 001 7,195 204 2.8% 3.9%
Lancaster 003 5,360 148 2.8% 4.4%
Lancaster 004 3,154 86 2.7% 3.8%
Lancaster 016 8,554 198 2.3% 3.6%
Lancaster 018 2,579 58 2.2% 3.5%
Lowest electric shares
Lancaster 015 1,373 6 0.4% 1.5%
Lancaster 009 2,417 12 0.5% 1.4%
Lancaster 008 3,249 29 0.9% 2.2%
Lancaster 010 3,673 35 1.0% 1.9%
Lancaster 011 3,561 41 1.2% 1.6%

Privately kept licensed vehicles of all types at the end of June 2026. 1 neighbourhood is left out because DfT withholds small counts there.

Road traffic and collisions in Lancaster

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Lancaster, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 24072
2022 279106
2023 24186
2024 21375
2025 23183

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Lancaster

Unleaded petrol averages 173.1p a litre across 12 filling stations in Lancaster, 1.6p above the UK average. Diesel averages 201.7p, 3.0p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Texaco Ascona Mossdale Service Station Burton 169.7p
  2. Esso Ascona Truckhaven Carnforth 169.9p
  3. Esso Follen Bolton Le Sands Ltd Carnforth 169.9p

Every filling station and price in Lancaster

How Lancaster compares

Lancaster compared with Lancashire, the North West, England, the UK
Lancaster 438 3.3% 2.8% 4.2% 135 13.6
Lancashire 468 3.9% 3.2% 5.3% 113 20.7
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 Lancaster

There is 1 DVSA car practical test centre in Lancaster, and the highest pass rate in 2025/26 was 59.2% at Heysham.

Other centres in Lancashire:

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 Lancashire

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

Councils in Lancashire
Chorley 506 4.7% 4.0% 4.2% 124 24.4
Ribble Valley 546 4.7% 4.2% 3.8% 123 30.3
West Lancashire 491 4.7% 3.7% 6.5% 76 37.0
South Ribble 527 4.4% 3.8% 4.3% 167 17.6
Fylde 533 4.3% 3.6% 4.9% 133 23.0
Wyre 508 4.0% 3.3% 4.8% 136 19.0
Preston 396 3.9% 3.0% 7.2% 79 24.4
Rossendale 476 3.5% 2.9% 5.3% 179 13.1
Lancaster 438 3.3% 2.8% 4.2% 135 13.6
Hyndburn 421 2.9% 2.1% 6.7% 58 24.9
Burnley 393 2.8% 2.2% 6.2% 108 13.0
Pendle 425 2.5% 2.0% 6.0% 63 22.5

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 83,481 licensed vehicles in Lancaster 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 3,413 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 Lancaster 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.