Northern Ireland · Council area
Mid and East Antrim motoring statistics
How many cars and electric cars are registered in Mid and East Antrim, which fuels they use, how many public chargers there are and how Mid and East Antrim compares with Northern Ireland. From DVLA licensing records, DfT charger statistics and ONS population estimates.
- Licensed cars 83,361 +1.2% on a year earlier
- Private cars per 1,000 people 544 UK 441
- Battery electric cars 1,657 2.0% of cars (UK 5.4%)
- Electric share of private cars 1.3% 10th lowest of 361 councils
- Public chargers 75 54 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
- Company-registered cars 8.7% UK 9.9%
How many cars are there in Mid and East Antrim?
There were 83,361 licensed cars in Mid and East Antrim at the end of March 2026, and 103,309 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 15.7% more cars than in 2015. Privately kept cars work out at 544 for every 1,000 residents, 64th highest of 361 councils (UK 441).
Licensed vehicles in Mid and East Antrim
Counts at the end of March each year, 2015 to 2026.
| Year | All vehicles | Cars |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 86,996 | 72,076 |
| 2016 | 89,036 | 73,667 |
| 2017 | 90,878 | 75,130 |
| 2018 | 92,237 | 76,127 |
| 2019 | 93,917 | 77,354 |
| 2020 | 95,361 | 78,832 |
| 2021 | 96,324 | 79,126 |
| 2022 | 96,958 | 79,193 |
| 2023 | 98,409 | 80,203 |
| 2024 | 99,863 | 81,086 |
| 2025 | 101,723 | 82,378 |
| 2026 | 103,309 | 83,361 |
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.
| Year | Mid and East Antrim | Northern Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 531 | 491 | 473 |
| 2016 | 538 | 500 | 480 |
| 2017 | 550 | 511 | 488 |
| 2018 | 553 | 516 | 490 |
| 2019 | 564 | 522 | 493 |
| 2020 | 561 | 521 | 489 |
| 2021 | 575 | 534 | 493 |
| 2022 | 574 | 532 | 489 |
| 2023 | 578 | 537 | 489 |
| 2024 | 585 | 543 | 490 |
Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated
Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Mid and East Antrim
41.6% of cars in Mid and East Antrim run on petrol and 48.7% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 54.3% in 2021. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 6.3%, and cars that plug in 2.8%.
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.
| Year | Petrol | Diesel | Hybrid | Battery electric | Plug-in hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 51.0% | 48.6% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 49.4% | 50.2% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 47.9% | 51.6% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 46.4% | 52.9% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 45.7% | 53.5% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2020 | 45.1% | 53.8% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2021 | 44.2% | 54.3% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2022 | 43.6% | 54.0% | 1.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| 2023 | 43.1% | 53.2% | 2.5% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| 2024 | 42.5% | 52.1% | 3.6% | 1.0% | 0.4% |
| 2025 | 42.0% | 50.6% | 4.8% | 1.4% | 0.6% |
| 2026 | 41.6% | 48.7% | 6.3% | 2.0% | 0.8% |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Electric cars in Mid and East Antrim
1,657 battery electric cars were licensed in Mid and East Antrim at the end of March 2026, 2.0% of all cars, 12th lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 2,311 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 1,192.
Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 1.3% are battery electric (970 cars), 5th highest of 11 councils in Northern Ireland. Companies keep 41.5% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 8.7% of its cars overall. There are also 58 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.
| Year | Mid and East Antrim | Northern Ireland | United 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% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | 1.0% | 2.1% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | 1.5% | 3.0% |
| 2025 | 1.4% | 2.2% | 4.1% |
| 2026 | 2.0% | 2.9% | 5.4% |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Public EV chargers in Mid and East Antrim
There were 75 public chargers in Mid and East Antrim on 1 July 2026, 37 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 54 for every 100,000 residents, 10th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 7.4% from 1 January 2026.
For every public charger there are 19.3 privately kept plug-in cars in Mid and East Antrim (UK 11.9), 125th most of 361 councils. A higher number means more competition for each public charger, though many drivers charge at home.
Public chargers
| Date | All public chargers | 50kW and above |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 81 | 37 |
| Apr 2026 | 77 | 37 |
| Jul 2026 | 75 | 37 |
Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated
Chargers per 100,000 residents
| Area | All chargers | 50kW and above |
|---|---|---|
| Mid and East Antrim | 54 | 26 |
| Northern Ireland | 60 | 19 |
| UK | 175 | 42 |
Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated
How Mid and East Antrim compares
| Mid and East Antrim | 544 | 2.0% | 54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 500 | 2.9% | 60 |
| United Kingdom | 441 | 5.4% | 175 |
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 Northern Ireland
Sorted by battery electric share of cars. Select a column heading to sort by it.
| Belfast | 344 | 6.1% | 78 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 518 | 4.0% | 66 |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 544 | 3.4% | 67 |
| Ards and North Down | 554 | 2.7% | 49 |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 533 | 2.0% | 46 |
| Mid and East Antrim | 544 | 2.0% | 54 |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 536 | 1.6% | 56 |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 534 | 1.5% | 66 |
| Derry City and Strabane | 486 | 1.4% | 44 |
| Mid Ulster | 531 | 1.3% | 52 |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 563 | 0.9% | 71 |
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed vehicles | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of March 2026 | 103,309 licensed vehicles in Mid and East Antrim | 15 September 2026 |
| Plug-in and electric vehicles | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of March 2026 | 2,395 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 |
- Coverage: licensing and charger figures cover the whole UK. Licensing figures for Northern Ireland start in September 2014, so UK and Northern Ireland trends begin in 2015.
- 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.
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.