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St Helens motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
110,200 licensed vehicles in St Helens
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 90,835 +1.3% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 452 UK 441
  • Battery electric cars 3,136 3.5% of cars (UK 5.4%)
  • Electric share of private cars 2.6% 158th lowest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 135 72 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 6.0% UK 9.9%

How many cars are there in St Helens?

There were 90,835 licensed cars in St Helens at the end of March 2026, and 110,200 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 17.4% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 452 for every 1,000 residents, 114th lowest of 361 councils (UK 441).

Licensed vehicles in St Helens

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in St Helens at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 89,45877,343
2011 90,39077,678
2012 90,33577,493
2013 90,43277,731
2014 91,76678,868
2015 93,26080,187
2016 95,83181,680
2017 98,04883,266
2018 98,96184,032
2019 101,00185,354
2020 102,11486,473
2021 102,86386,328
2022 104,90187,402
2023 105,71588,170
2024 106,45888,685
2025 108,07689,646
2026 110,20090,835

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.

Cars per 1,000 residents at mid-year, St Helens compared
Year St HelensNorth WestUnited Kingdom
2011 443429–
2012 441425–
2013 443428–
2014 448433–
2015 451435473
2016 456438480
2017 463440488
2018 467443490
2019 471448493
2020 470446489
2021 474477493
2022 472472489
2023 474472489
2024 471474490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in St Helens

57.1% of cars in St Helens run on petrol and 29.1% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 36.8% in 2021. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 8.3%, and cars that plug in 5.2%.

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.

Share of licensed cars by fuel type in St Helens, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 76.4%23.4%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 74.4%25.3%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2012 72.7%27.0%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 71.1%28.6%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 69.3%30.3%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2015 67.5%32.0%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2016 65.4%34.1%0.4%0.1%0.0%
2017 63.8%35.6%0.4%0.1%0.0%
2018 62.8%36.5%0.5%0.1%0.1%
2019 62.4%36.6%0.7%0.1%0.1%
2020 62.1%36.7%0.9%0.1%0.1%
2021 61.4%36.8%1.3%0.2%0.2%
2022 61.0%35.9%2.1%0.5%0.4%
2023 60.6%34.9%2.8%0.9%0.6%
2024 59.7%33.5%4.3%1.4%0.7%
2025 58.6%31.3%6.2%2.3%1.1%
2026 57.1%29.1%8.3%3.5%1.7%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Electric cars in St Helens

3,136 battery electric cars were licensed in St Helens at the end of March 2026, 3.5% of all cars, 181st lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 4,684 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 2,090.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 2.6% are battery electric (2,234 cars), 17th lowest of 35 councils in the North West. Companies keep 28.8% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 6.0% of its cars overall. There are also 84 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 Helens compared, end of March each year
Year St HelensNorth 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 0.1%0.2%0.3%
2021 0.2%0.7%0.7%
2022 0.5%1.5%1.3%
2023 0.9%2.6%2.1%
2024 1.4%3.8%3.0%
2025 2.3%5.4%4.1%
2026 3.5%6.2%5.4%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in St Helens

There were 135 public chargers in St Helens on 1 July 2026, 75 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 72 for every 100,000 residents, 43rd lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count fell 5.6% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 26.1 privately kept plug-in cars in St Helens (UK 11.9), 59th 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 Helens by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 14376
Apr 2026 13576
Jul 2026 13575

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, St Helens compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
St Helens 7240
Merseyside 11126
North West 11240
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

St Helens has 24 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 2.2% 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 St Helens with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
St. Helens 025 3,862 154 4.0% 5.9%
St. Helens 009 3,514 129 3.7% 5.4%
St. Helens 023 3,258 120 3.7% 5.7%
St. Helens 018 3,891 128 3.3% 5.4%
St. Helens 001 5,175 153 3.0% 4.9%
St. Helens 013 3,249 85 2.6% 4.0%
St. Helens 015 6,252 160 2.6% 4.0%
St. Helens 022 5,623 142 2.5% 4.1%
St. Helens 024 3,562 90 2.5% 3.8%
St. Helens 003 3,398 74 2.2% 3.4%
Lowest electric shares
St. Helens 012 2,848 25 0.9% 1.5%
St. Helens 014 3,315 38 1.1% 2.3%
St. Helens 008 4,968 85 1.7% 2.8%
St. Helens 004 5,287 97 1.8% 3.0%
St. Helens 002 3,697 68 1.8% 3.1%

Privately kept licensed vehicles of all types at the end of March 2026. 2 neighbourhoods are left out because DfT withholds small counts there.

Road traffic and collisions in St Helens

Vehicles travelled an estimated 871 million miles on roads in St Helens in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in St Helens
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 668
1994 681
1995 698
1996 726
1997 738
1998 744
1999 763
2000 767
2001 759
2002 771
2003 786
2004 783
2005 760
2006 804
2007 797
2008 833
2009 798
2010 785
2011 808
2012 789
2013 794
2014 830
2015 844
2016 869
2017 867
2018 861
2019 858
2020 692
2021 747
2022 827
2023 844
2024 859
2025 871

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in St Helens, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 21666
2022 23757
2023 22473
2024 23771
2025 24463

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in St Helens

Unleaded petrol averages 168.9p a litre across 20 filling stations in St Helens, 2.8p below the UK average. Diesel averages 190.9p, 3.7p below the UK average. Prices checked 16 Sept, 16:47.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Costco Wholesale Haydock Haydock 161.9p
  2. Texaco West End Road Service Station St. Helens 164.9p
  3. BP Asda Sherdley Park Express Petrol St Helens 165.9p

Every filling station and price in St Helens

How St Helens compares

St Helens compared with Merseyside, the North West, England, the UK
St Helens 452 3.5% 2.6% 6.0% 72 26.1
Merseyside 388 3.4% 2.6% 7.4% 111 16.1
North West 427 6.2% 2.7% 11.8% 112 17.4
England 437 5.8% 2.9% 10.6% 173 12.4
United Kingdom4415.4%2.8%9.9%17511.9

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 March 2026.

Councils in Merseyside

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

Councils in Merseyside
Knowsley 380 4.1% 3.2% 8.5% 57 35.7
St Helens 452 3.5% 2.6% 6.0% 72 26.1
Wirral 453 3.4% 2.8% 5.9% 71 29.9
Liverpool 302 3.3% 2.2% 9.5% 196 6.4
Sefton 425 3.3% 2.7% 6.8% 61 33.9

Data sources and methodology

Datasets used on this page
Figures Source Period Records Updated
Licensed vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 110,200 licensed vehicles in St Helens 15 September 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 4,913 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
Neighbourhoods Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of March 2026 35,672 small areas (LSOAs) in England and Wales 15 September 2026
  • Coverage: licensing and charger figures cover the whole UK. Licensing figures in St Helens 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.