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London motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
3,052,997 licensed vehicles in London
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 2,663,653 +1.4% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 264 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 186,586 7.0% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 3.9% UK 3.1%
  • Public chargers 31,371 345 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 9.8% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in London?

There were 2,663,653 licensed cars in London at the end of June 2026, and 3,052,997 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 3.5% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 264 for every 1,000 residents (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in London

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in London at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 2,990,2022,574,710
2011 2,981,3692,567,378
2012 2,951,9652,550,989
2013 2,961,7262,557,864
2014 3,005,3882,591,728
2015 3,033,7862,619,936
2016 3,077,1652,657,570
2017 3,107,6262,683,641
2018 3,094,9572,679,100
2019 3,082,7552,675,036
2020 3,016,3482,628,070
2021 3,043,5802,645,241
2022 3,011,7762,614,129
2023 2,998,4352,608,538
2024 2,998,4932,612,105
2025 3,014,3592,626,309
2026 3,052,9972,663,653

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, London compared
Year LondonEnglandUnited Kingdom
2011 313457–
2012 307455–
2013 303458–
2014 303463–
2015 303466473
2016 304471480
2017 306478488
2018 303480490
2019 301483493
2020 296477489
2021 300482493
2022 295478489
2023 290477489
2024 287478490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in London

62.4% of cars in London run on petrol and 13.8% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 31.3% in 2018. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 12.3%, and cars that plug in 11.1%.

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 London, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 80.2%18.9%0.6%0.0%0.0%
2011 78.1%20.9%0.8%0.0%0.0%
2012 75.9%22.9%0.9%0.0%0.0%
2013 73.9%24.7%1.1%0.0%0.0%
2014 71.6%26.7%1.4%0.1%0.0%
2015 69.2%28.6%1.8%0.1%0.1%
2016 67.0%30.3%2.3%0.1%0.1%
2017 65.3%31.3%2.7%0.2%0.2%
2018 64.6%31.3%3.2%0.3%0.4%
2019 65.2%29.8%4.0%0.3%0.6%
2020 65.8%28.0%4.6%0.5%0.9%
2021 66.8%25.2%5.4%1.1%1.2%
2022 67.9%21.7%6.5%2.0%1.6%
2023 68.1%18.6%7.8%3.2%2.0%
2024 67.5%15.7%9.3%4.5%2.7%
2025 65.2%14.6%10.8%5.7%3.3%
2026 62.4%13.8%12.3%7.0%4.1%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in London

186,586 battery electric cars were licensed in London at the end of June 2026, 7.0% of all cars. With plug-in hybrids, 296,689 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 149,457.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 3.9% are battery electric (93,595 cars). Companies keep 49.8% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 9.8% of its cars overall. There are also 7,398 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, London compared, end of March each year
Year LondonEnglandUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2017 0.2%0.1%0.1%
2018 0.3%0.2%0.1%
2019 0.3%0.2%0.2%
2020 0.5%0.4%0.4%
2021 1.1%0.9%0.8%
2022 2.0%1.6%1.5%
2023 3.2%2.5%2.3%
2024 4.5%3.5%3.2%
2025 5.7%4.7%4.4%
2026 7.0%6.2%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in London

There were 31,371 public chargers in London on 1 July 2026, 2,533 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 345 for every 100,000 residents, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 23.1% from 1 January 2025.

For every public charger there are 5.8 privately kept plug-in cars in London (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 London by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2025 25,4742,229
Apr 2025 26,5052,228
Jul 2025 27,4062,190
Oct 2025 29,5222,213
Jan 2026 30,7282,329
Apr 2026 30,9092,455
Jul 2026 31,3712,533

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, London compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
London 34528
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Petrol and diesel prices in London

Unleaded petrol averages 171.8p a litre across 421 filling stations in London, 0.3p above the UK average. Diesel averages 199.9p, 1.2p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Asda Leyton Mills Superstore Leyton 162.9p
  2. Jet Greenman Service Station London 162.9p
  3. Sainsbury's Eltham London 165.9p

Every filling station and price in London

How London compares

London compared with England, the UK
London 264 7.0% 3.9% 9.8% 345 5.8
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 London

There are 12 DVSA car practical test centres in London, and the highest pass rate in 2025/26 was 58.7% at Sidcup (London).

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 London

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

Councils in London
Westminster 179 57.9% 7.7% 60.4% 1,378 1.8
City of London 79 24.6% 7.8% 50.4% 443 2.4
Hammersmith and Fulham 199 18.7% 5.2% 22.4% 1,380 1.5
Camden 159 9.7% 7.6% 12.6% 378 5.4
Kensington and Chelsea 239 7.4% 6.7% 8.5% 637 4.7
Brent 232 7.3% 4.0% 12.8% 367 5.1
Barnet 322 6.6% 5.4% 7.2% 288 10.1
Islington 132 6.0% 4.7% 11.6% 386 3.1
Richmond upon Thames 359 5.6% 4.7% 5.6% 642 5.0
Harrow 337 5.5% 4.3% 6.2% 120 22.8
Hillingdon 364 5.4% 3.4% 16.7% 121 20.1
Kingston upon Thames 354 5.2% 4.5% 3.9% 242 11.8
Merton 294 5.2% 4.4% 5.7% 436 5.6
Southwark 162 5.2% 4.3% 8.1% 618 2.1
Wandsworth 214 5.2% 4.4% 5.1% 532 3.6
Tower Hamlets 128 5.0% 3.8% 11.0% 776 1.7
Ealing 274 4.7% 3.6% 7.5% 264 7.6
Redbridge 302 4.7% 3.8% 7.2% 198 11.9
Hackney 138 4.6% 3.4% 10.4% 638 1.6
Haringey 214 4.6% 3.7% 8.9% 135 11.1
Bromley 409 4.5% 3.8% 4.4% 67 42.1
Lambeth 176 4.5% 3.8% 6.6% 244 5.4
Barking and Dagenham 264 4.4% 3.1% 8.6% 100 18.5
Croydon 318 4.3% 3.6% 5.5% 153 13.9
Hounslow 301 4.2% 3.2% 6.8% 233 8.9
Sutton 378 4.2% 3.6% 4.2% 118 20.5
Greenwich 239 4.1% 3.5% 6.3% 101 15.5
Havering 388 3.8% 2.9% 6.1% 95 24.0
Newham 168 3.8% 3.0% 9.3% 159 8.5
Enfield 334 3.6% 2.8% 6.9% 137 14.0
Lewisham 233 3.6% 3.1% 5.6% 133 10.5
Waltham Forest 251 3.6% 2.8% 7.6% 663 2.2
Bexley 382 3.5% 3.0% 6.3% 269 7.9

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 3,052,997 licensed vehicles in London 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 321,030 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 London 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.