My Garage

Popular searches

Yorkshire and the Humber · County

South Yorkshire motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
792,875 licensed vehicles in South Yorkshire
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 663,916 +1.5% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 435 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 26,935 4.1% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 3.1% UK 3.1%
  • Public chargers 1,414 99 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 6.3% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in South Yorkshire?

There were 663,916 licensed cars in South Yorkshire at the end of June 2026, and 792,875 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 22.4% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 435 for every 1,000 residents (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in South Yorkshire

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in South Yorkshire at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 645,338542,316
2011 647,439543,789
2012 652,861548,447
2013 655,128550,449
2014 671,113563,080
2015 676,973569,784
2016 687,988580,643
2017 702,835592,318
2018 710,965599,236
2019 725,804611,691
2020 723,392611,095
2021 740,861621,413
2022 745,715623,931
2023 753,607631,321
2024 767,897644,226
2025 780,497653,950
2026 792,875663,916

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, South Yorkshire compared
Year South YorkshireYorkshire and the HumberUnited Kingdom
2011 405427–
2012 407427–
2013 407429–
2014 415429–
2015 419433473
2016 425442480
2017 433450488
2018 437456490
2019 445464493
2020 445463489
2021 452470493
2022 448469489
2023 447469489
2024 450472490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in South Yorkshire

49.5% of cars in South Yorkshire run on petrol and 35.5% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 43.6% in 2020. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 8.4%, and cars that plug in 6.3%.

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 South Yorkshire, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 69.8%29.9%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2011 67.6%32.0%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2012 64.9%34.6%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2013 63.4%36.1%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2014 61.2%38.1%0.4%0.0%0.0%
2015 59.3%39.9%0.5%0.1%0.1%
2016 57.5%41.6%0.6%0.1%0.2%
2017 56.2%42.6%0.7%0.1%0.2%
2018 55.4%43.2%0.9%0.1%0.3%
2019 54.7%43.5%1.1%0.1%0.4%
2020 54.2%43.6%1.4%0.3%0.5%
2021 53.3%43.3%2.0%0.5%0.6%
2022 52.5%42.7%2.7%0.8%0.8%
2023 52.0%41.6%3.6%1.3%1.0%
2024 51.6%39.8%4.9%2.0%1.3%
2025 50.6%37.7%6.7%2.9%1.7%
2026 49.5%35.5%8.4%4.1%2.3%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in South Yorkshire

26,935 battery electric cars were licensed in South Yorkshire at the end of June 2026, 4.1% of all cars. With plug-in hybrids, 41,936 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 19,227.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 3.1% are battery electric (19,540 cars). Companies keep 27.5% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 6.3% of its cars overall. There are also 840 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, South Yorkshire compared, end of March each year
Year South YorkshireYorkshire and the HumberUnited 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 0.3%0.3%0.4%
2021 0.5%0.7%0.8%
2022 0.8%1.4%1.5%
2023 1.3%2.2%2.3%
2024 2.0%3.0%3.2%
2025 2.9%4.1%4.4%
2026 4.1%5.5%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in South Yorkshire

There were 1,414 public chargers in South Yorkshire on 1 July 2026, 527 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 99 for every 100,000 residents, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 7.0% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 21.6 privately kept plug-in cars in South Yorkshire (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 South Yorkshire by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 1,321443
Apr 2026 1,343482
Jul 2026 1,414527

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, South Yorkshire compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
South Yorkshire 9937
Yorkshire and the Humber 11137
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Petrol and diesel prices in South Yorkshire

Unleaded petrol averages 171.8p a litre across 122 filling stations in South Yorkshire, 0.3p above the UK average. Diesel averages 199.6p, 0.9p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Texaco Bridge End Garage Sheffield 165.9p
  2. Jet Great Houghton Barnsley 165.9p
  3. Jet Bawtry Road Service Station Ltd Rotherham 166.9p

Every filling station and price in South Yorkshire

How South Yorkshire compares

South Yorkshire compared with the Yorkshire and the Humber, England, the UK
South Yorkshire 435 4.1% 3.1% 6.3% 99 21.6
Yorkshire and the Humber 440 5.5% 3.0% 9.2% 111 19.6
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 South Yorkshire

There are 5 DVSA car practical test centres in South Yorkshire, and the highest pass rate in 2025/26 was 58.6% at Barnsley.

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 South Yorkshire

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

Councils in South Yorkshire
Doncaster 474 4.5% 3.4% 6.7% 97 26.1
Rotherham 469 4.0% 3.3% 5.0% 132 17.8
Sheffield 382 3.9% 3.0% 7.3% 91 19.4
Barnsley 468 3.8% 3.0% 5.1% 83 26.9

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 792,875 licensed vehicles in South Yorkshire 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 43,443 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 South Yorkshire 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.