Rankings
Most popular cars in Great Britain
The car models with the most vehicles licensed on Britain’s roads. This ranks cars by how many are in use, not by new sales, so long-running models stay near the top for years after they stop being sold.
The Ford Fiesta is the most common car in Great Britain, with 1,249,904 licensed at the end of March 2026. The ten most common models account for 21.8% of all licensed cars.
- Most common car Ford Fiesta 1,249,904 licensed
- Fastest growing in the top 20 Kia Sportage +10.5% in a year
- Fastest falling in the top 20 Vauxhall Astra -9.7% in a year
Top 20 car models by number licensed
Sort by any column, or filter by body style, make or fuel.
Showing all 20 models
| 1 | Ford Fiesta | 1,249,904 | −5.2% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Vauxhall Corsa | 902,410 | −3.2% |
| 3 | Volkswagen Golf | 900,884 | −2.1% |
| 4 | Ford Focus | 857,445 | −6.6% |
| 5 ▲ 1 places up since End of March 2025 | Nissan Qashqai | 684,098 | +2.8% |
| 6 ▼ 1 places down since End of March 2025 | Volkswagen Polo | 663,686 | −0.3% |
| 7 ▲ 1 places up since End of March 2025 | Toyota Yaris | 575,454 | +3.1% |
| 8 ▼ 1 places down since End of March 2025 | Vauxhall Astra | 527,414 | −9.7% |
| 9 | MINI Cooper | 509,006 | +1.1% |
| 10 | BMW 3 Series | 448,681 | −5.0% |
| 11 | Audi A3 | 433,527 | +0.1% |
| 12 | Fiat 500 | 423,199 | −2.0% |
| 13 ▲ 3 places up since End of March 2025 | Kia Sportage | 414,357 | +10.5% |
| 14 | Nissan Juke | 406,533 | +5.7% |
| 15 ▼ 2 places down since End of March 2025 | BMW 1 Series | 392,139 | −0.5% |
| 16 ▼ 1 places down since End of March 2025 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 378,826 | +0.7% |
| 17 | Ford Kuga | 367,678 | +3.9% |
| 18 | Honda Jazz | 344,971 | −0.9% |
| 19 ▲ 2 places up since End of March 2025 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 331,220 | +6.5% |
| 20 ▼ 1 places down since End of March 2025 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 326,200 | −4.5% |
No models match these filters.
Licensed at the end of March 2026. Change is the percentage change in the number licensed since the end of March 2025. Arrows show movement in rank.
The top 10 at a glance
Licensed cars, top 10 models
| Model | Licensed |
|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 1,249,904 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 902,410 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 900,884 |
| Ford Focus | 857,445 |
| Nissan Qashqai | 684,098 |
| Volkswagen Polo | 663,686 |
| Toyota Yaris | 575,454 |
| Vauxhall Astra | 527,414 |
| MINI Cooper | 509,006 |
| BMW 3 Series | 448,681 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
How the top models have changed
Licensed cars, 2019 to 2026
Since 2019, the biggest change among these models is the Ford Focus (-29.2%).
| Year | Ford Fiesta | Vauxhall Corsa | Volkswagen Golf | Ford Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,515,652 | 1,063,929 | 1,016,542 | 1,211,590 |
| 2020 | 1,492,118 | 1,034,149 | 999,314 | 1,152,571 |
| 2021 | 1,462,920 | 1,009,970 | 980,278 | 1,085,039 |
| 2022 | 1,431,151 | 990,632 | 962,217 | 1,032,308 |
| 2023 | 1,399,917 | 971,454 | 939,671 | 985,052 |
| 2024 | 1,336,296 | 938,598 | 922,201 | 930,852 |
| 2025 | 1,270,805 | 910,371 | 906,876 | 874,876 |
| 2026 | 1,249,904 | 902,410 | 900,884 | 857,445 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of March 2026 Updated
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed cars by model | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of March 2026 | 33,545,602 licensed cars | 15 September 2026 |
- We count cars (body type “cars”) licensed in Great Britain at the end of the period. SORN vehicles are excluded.
- Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is not included.
- Models are grouped by DVLA’s generic model name, so all generations of a model count together.
- Changes compare the same quarter a year earlier, which removes seasonal effects.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.