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St Albans motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
90,803 licensed vehicles in St Albans
Methodology
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  • Licensed cars 78,911 +0.6% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 503 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 4,546 5.8% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 5.0% 10th highest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 167 111 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 3.7% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in St Albans?

There were 78,911 licensed cars in St Albans at the end of June 2026, and 90,803 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 7.7% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 503 for every 1,000 residents, 157th highest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in St Albans

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in St Albans at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 82,88073,287
2011 83,95974,202
2012 84,75574,757
2013 85,51475,419
2014 86,74176,277
2015 88,05577,204
2016 88,70377,606
2017 89,57178,211
2018 89,61078,254
2019 90,23478,796
2020 88,53877,584
2021 89,15777,904
2022 88,93377,787
2023 89,27377,929
2024 89,81678,235
2025 90,10078,472
2026 90,80378,911

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, St Albans compared
Year St AlbansEast of EnglandUnited Kingdom
2011 525503–
2012 524502–
2013 523505–
2014 523524–
2015 526529473
2016 525537480
2017 530544488
2018 530542490
2019 532541493
2020 522536489
2021 524539493
2022 523532489
2023 521529489
2024 518531490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in St Albans

61.2% of cars in St Albans run on petrol and 18.8% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 32.5% in 2017. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 10.5%, and cars that plug in 9.1%.

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 St Albans, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 77.4%22.0%0.4%0.0%0.0%
2011 75.3%23.9%0.5%0.0%0.0%
2012 73.3%25.8%0.6%0.0%0.0%
2013 71.5%27.5%0.7%0.0%0.0%
2014 69.5%29.4%0.9%0.0%0.0%
2015 67.8%30.9%1.0%0.1%0.0%
2016 66.3%32.0%1.2%0.1%0.1%
2017 65.6%32.5%1.4%0.2%0.2%
2018 65.4%32.2%1.7%0.3%0.3%
2019 65.9%31.3%2.0%0.4%0.4%
2020 66.2%30.3%2.2%0.6%0.6%
2021 66.1%28.8%2.9%1.0%0.9%
2022 65.7%27.3%3.8%1.7%1.3%
2023 65.3%25.2%5.1%2.5%1.6%
2024 64.5%23.0%6.6%3.4%2.1%
2025 63.1%20.9%8.5%4.4%2.7%
2026 61.2%18.8%10.5%5.8%3.3%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in St Albans

4,546 battery electric cars were licensed in St Albans at the end of June 2026, 5.8% of all cars, 29th highest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 7,142 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 3,431.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 5.0% are battery electric (3,812 cars), 2nd highest of 45 councils in the East of England. Companies keep 16.1% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 3.7% of its cars overall. There are also 94 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, St Albans compared, end of March each year
Year St AlbansEast of EnglandUnited Kingdom
2016 0.1%0.1%0.1%
2017 0.2%0.2%0.1%
2018 0.3%0.2%0.1%
2019 0.4%0.2%0.2%
2020 0.6%0.4%0.4%
2021 1.0%0.8%0.8%
2022 1.7%1.2%1.5%
2023 2.5%1.9%2.3%
2024 3.4%2.9%3.2%
2025 4.4%4.1%4.4%
2026 5.8%5.6%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in St Albans

There were 167 public chargers in St Albans on 1 July 2026, 69 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 111 for every 100,000 residents, 111th lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 22.8% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 36.8 privately kept plug-in cars in St Albans (UK 12.9), 18th 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 St Albans by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 13639
Apr 2026 13847
Jul 2026 16769

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, St Albans compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
St Albans 11146
Hertfordshire 20857
East of England 15049
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

St Albans has 20 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 4.6% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 6.4%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in St Albans with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
St Albans 010 3,717 237 6.4% 10.5%
St Albans 003 4,407 262 5.9% 10.1%
St Albans 005 4,284 251 5.9% 9.7%
St Albans 001 4,370 249 5.7% 8.9%
St Albans 014 3,965 221 5.6% 9.0%
St Albans 008 4,200 231 5.5% 8.2%
St Albans 004 4,519 246 5.4% 8.3%
St Albans 002 4,025 195 4.8% 7.5%
St Albans 006 4,357 209 4.8% 7.8%
St Albans 021 3,727 171 4.6% 7.3%
Lowest electric shares
St Albans 018 5,559 178 3.2% 5.2%
St Albans 011 3,454 121 3.5% 6.3%
St Albans 017 3,515 127 3.6% 5.7%
St Albans 012 3,680 137 3.7% 6.2%
St Albans 019 4,134 158 3.8% 6.4%

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

Road traffic and collisions in St Albans

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in St Albans, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 26857
2022 28653
2023 28458
2024 20039
2025 23047

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in St Albans

Unleaded petrol averages 176.0p a litre across 8 filling stations in St Albans, 4.5p above the UK average. Diesel averages 201.1p, 2.4p above the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. MFG Morrisons St Albans St Albans 171.9p
  2. Esso MFG King William St Albans 172.9p
  3. Harvest EG Classic St Albans 173.9p

Every filling station and price in St Albans

How St Albans compares

St Albans compared with Hertfordshire, the East of England, England, the UK
St Albans 503 5.8% 5.0% 3.7% 111 36.8
Hertfordshire 488 4.6% 3.8% 4.5% 208 14.9
East of England 501 5.6% 3.2% 8.7% 150 17.3
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 St Albans

There is 1 DVSA car practical test centre in St Albans, and the highest pass rate in 2025/26 was 50.7% at St Albans.

Other centres in Hertfordshire:

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 Hertfordshire

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

Councils in Hertfordshire
St Albans 503 5.8% 5.0% 3.7% 111 36.8
Hertsmere 469 5.7% 4.4% 6.5% 229 15.2
Three Rivers 513 5.1% 4.2% 4.2% 161 23.4
North Hertfordshire 515 4.7% 4.0% 4.3% 117 27.7
East Hertfordshire 529 4.4% 3.7% 3.8% 135 24.6
Welwyn Hatfield 458 4.4% 3.6% 5.5% 350 7.8
Dacorum 508 4.2% 3.5% 4.1% 159 19.0
Watford 398 4.0% 3.0% 5.4% 563 4.0
Broxbourne 486 3.4% 2.8% 4.7% 153 15.8
Stevenage 450 3.1% 2.6% 4.3% 194 9.8

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 90,803 licensed vehicles in St Albans 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 7,332 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 St Albans 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.