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Wigan motoring statistics

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

Last updated
Records analysed
198,878 licensed vehicles in Wigan
Methodology
View methodology
  • Licensed cars 165,605 +1.3% on a year earlier
  • Private cars per 1,000 people 457 UK 444
  • Battery electric cars 6,153 3.7% of cars (UK 5.8%)
  • Electric share of private cars 3.1% 172nd highest of 361 councils
  • Public chargers 261 76 per 100,000 people (UK 175)
  • Company-registered cars 4.8% UK 10.0%

How many cars are there in Wigan?

There were 165,605 licensed cars in Wigan at the end of June 2026, and 198,878 licensed vehicles of all kinds. That is 19.2% more cars than in 2010. Privately kept cars work out at 457 for every 1,000 residents, 116th lowest of 361 councils (UK 444).

Licensed vehicles in Wigan

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

Licensed cars and vehicles in Wigan at the end of March each year
Year All vehiclesCars
2010 163,256138,947
2011 162,755138,658
2012 162,473138,639
2013 165,511141,274
2014 168,167143,443
2015 170,012144,780
2016 172,519146,253
2017 175,712148,862
2018 177,694150,458
2019 181,251153,008
2020 181,147153,589
2021 185,535155,755
2022 186,857156,960
2023 189,700158,937
2024 192,985161,409
2025 195,702163,539
2026 198,878165,605

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, Wigan compared
Year WiganNorth WestUnited Kingdom
2011 436429–
2012 436425–
2013 443428–
2014 448433–
2015 451435473
2016 455438480
2017 462440488
2018 465443490
2019 469448493
2020 469446489
2021 472477493
2022 469472489
2023 467472489
2024 468474490

Source:ONS Mid-2024 Updated

Petrol, diesel and electric cars in Wigan

55.4% of cars in Wigan run on petrol and 30.3% on diesel. Diesel’s share peaked at 38.5% in 2020. Hybrids that do not plug in make up 8.4%, and cars that plug in 5.5%.

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 Wigan, end of March each year
Year PetrolDieselHybridBattery electricPlug-in hybrid
2010 74.9%24.8%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2011 73.0%26.7%0.1%0.0%0.0%
2012 71.2%28.4%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2013 69.3%30.3%0.2%0.0%0.0%
2014 67.5%32.0%0.3%0.0%0.0%
2015 65.6%33.8%0.4%0.0%0.0%
2016 63.6%35.7%0.5%0.1%0.0%
2017 62.2%36.9%0.6%0.1%0.1%
2018 61.2%37.8%0.8%0.1%0.1%
2019 60.5%38.2%1.0%0.1%0.1%
2020 59.9%38.5%1.2%0.1%0.2%
2021 59.3%38.4%1.7%0.3%0.3%
2022 58.7%37.6%2.4%0.5%0.5%
2023 58.3%36.6%3.3%0.9%0.6%
2024 57.7%34.9%4.7%1.5%0.8%
2025 56.8%32.8%6.3%2.4%1.2%
2026 55.4%30.3%8.4%3.7%1.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Electric cars in Wigan

6,153 battery electric cars were licensed in Wigan at the end of June 2026, 3.7% of all cars, 162nd lowest of 361 councils. With plug-in hybrids, 9,175 cars plug in. A year earlier there were 3,937.

Of the privately kept cars, which are registered at home addresses, 3.1% are battery electric (4,914 cars), 15th highest of 35 councils in the North West. Companies keep 20.1% of the area’s battery electric cars, against 4.8% of its cars overall. There are also 169 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, Wigan compared, end of March each year
Year WiganNorth 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%0.4%
2021 0.3%0.8%0.8%
2022 0.5%1.7%1.5%
2023 0.9%2.9%2.3%
2024 1.5%4.1%3.2%
2025 2.4%5.3%4.4%
2026 3.7%6.6%5.8%

Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated

Public EV chargers in Wigan

There were 261 public chargers in Wigan on 1 July 2026, 111 of them rapid or ultra-rapid (50kW and above). That is 76 for every 100,000 residents, 51st lowest of 361 councils, against 175 across the UK. The count rose 12.5% from 1 January 2026.

For every public charger there are 28.7 privately kept plug-in cars in Wigan (UK 12.9), 51st 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 Wigan by date
Date All public chargers50kW and above
Jan 2026 232102
Apr 2026 251108
Jul 2026 261111

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Chargers per 100,000 residents

Public chargers per 100,000 residents, Wigan compared
Area All chargers50kW and above
Wigan 7632
Greater Manchester 9642
North West 11240
England 17341
UK 17542

Source:DfT 1 July 2026 Updated

Electric cars by neighbourhood

Wigan has 40 ONS neighbourhoods (middle layer super output areas, about 7,000 residents each). In the typical one, 2.7% of privately kept vehicles are battery electric; in the highest, 4.7%. ONS names neighbourhoods by council and number, not by place name.

Neighbourhoods in Wigan with the highest battery electric share of privately kept vehicles
Neighbourhood (MSOA) Private vehicles Battery electric Electric share Plug-in share
Wigan 039 6,591 307 4.7% 6.6%
Wigan 002 5,422 239 4.4% 6.6%
Wigan 029 6,240 275 4.4% 6.5%
Wigan 001 4,614 176 3.8% 5.8%
Wigan 040 5,286 203 3.8% 5.6%
Wigan 013 5,084 181 3.6% 4.8%
Wigan 028 4,626 157 3.4% 5.2%
Wigan 021 7,255 239 3.3% 4.9%
Wigan 023 4,634 154 3.3% 4.8%
Wigan 017 3,914 125 3.2% 5.1%
Lowest electric shares
Wigan 010 2,952 23 0.8% 1.9%
Wigan 009 2,653 20 0.8% 1.7%
Wigan 030 2,897 35 1.2% 2.2%
Wigan 008 3,681 45 1.2% 2.3%
Wigan 014 3,941 57 1.4% 3.0%

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

Road traffic and collisions in Wigan

Vehicles travelled an estimated 1,289 million miles on roads in Wigan in 2025.

Traffic on all roads

Million vehicle miles a year on roads in Wigan
Year Million vehicle miles
1993 1,007
1994 1,022
1995 1,044
1996 1,075
1997 1,100
1998 1,135
1999 1,154
2000 1,158
2001 1,157
2002 1,193
2003 1,184
2004 1,206
2005 1,219
2006 1,216
2007 1,210
2008 1,211
2009 1,192
2010 1,177
2011 1,177
2012 1,175
2013 1,168
2014 1,192
2015 1,209
2016 1,214
2017 1,215
2018 1,217
2019 1,232
2020 999
2021 1,133
2022 1,213
2023 1,223
2024 1,251
2025 1,289

Source:DfT 1993 to 2025 Updated

Reported injury collisions

Police-reported injury collisions in Wigan, 2021 to 2025
Year CollisionsKilled or seriously injured
2021 25568
2022 23883
2023 22259
2024 275109
2025 21991

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

More road safety figures

Petrol and diesel prices in Wigan

Unleaded petrol averages 169.4p a litre across 14 filling stations in Wigan, 2.1p below the UK average. Diesel averages 195.5p, 3.2p below the UK average. Prices checked 31 Oct, 19:32.

Cheapest petrol

  1. Asda Golborne Superstore Warrington 165.7p
  2. Asda Astley Express Petrol Manchester 166.9p
  3. Sainsbury's Leigh Leigh 166.9p

Every filling station and price in Wigan

How Wigan compares

Wigan compared with Greater Manchester, the North West, England, the UK
Wigan 457 3.7% 3.1% 4.8% 76 28.7
Greater Manchester 391 7.8% 2.9% 15.5% 96 19.1
North West 430 6.6% 3.1% 11.7% 112 18.9
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 Wigan

There is no DVSA car practical test centre in Wigan. The nearest centres are elsewhere in Greater Manchester.

Centres in Greater Manchester:

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 Greater Manchester

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

Councils in Greater Manchester
Stockport 467 24.6% 3.4% 45.3% 115 21.8
Bury 432 5.6% 3.2% 18.8% 55 40.3
Salford 332 4.9% 2.8% 15.3% 96 15.9
Trafford 450 4.7% 3.8% 5.2% 189 14.5
Manchester 282 3.7% 2.1% 9.9% 128 8.3
Wigan 457 3.7% 3.1% 4.8% 76 28.7
Bolton 411 3.5% 2.8% 6.3% 55 34.2
Rochdale 406 3.4% 2.7% 6.2% 72 26.0
Oldham 381 3.1% 2.3% 7.5% 71 21.6
Tameside 414 3.1% 2.4% 5.5% 59 27.9

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 198,878 licensed vehicles in Wigan 26 October 2026
Plug-in and electric vehicles Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport End of June 2026 9,496 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 Wigan 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.