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 1,234,335 licensed at the end of June 2026. The ten most common models account for 21.5% of all licensed cars.
- Most common car Ford Fiesta 1,234,335 licensed
- Fastest growing in the top 20 Kia Sportage +10.3% in a year
- Fastest falling in the top 20 Vauxhall Astra -9.9% 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 | 1,234,335 | −5.3% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 ▲ 1 places up since End of June 2025 | Volkswagen Golf | 899,678 | −1.8% |
| 3 ▼ 1 places down since End of June 2025 | Vauxhall Corsa | 894,465 | −3.2% |
| 4 | Ford Focus | 842,798 | −6.8% |
| 5 | Nissan Qashqai | 685,884 | +2.5% |
| 6 | Volkswagen Polo | 664,223 | −0.2% |
| 7 ▲ 1 places up since End of June 2025 | Toyota Yaris | 575,213 | +3.2% |
| 8 ▲ 1 places up since End of June 2025 | MINI Cooper | 514,748 | +1.4% |
| 9 ▼ 2 places down since End of June 2025 | Vauxhall Astra | 513,297 | −9.9% |
| 10 | BMW 3 Series | 457,570 | −4.8% |
| 11 | Audi A3 | 433,129 | +0.1% |
| 12 ▲ 1 places up since End of June 2025 | BMW 1 Series | 427,395 | +0.1% |
| 13 ▲ 2 places up since End of June 2025 | Kia Sportage | 423,429 | +10.3% |
| 14 ▼ 2 places down since End of June 2025 | Fiat 500 | 421,235 | −2.3% |
| 15 ▼ 1 places down since End of June 2025 | Nissan Juke | 408,337 | +4.8% |
| 16 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 379,276 | +0.5% |
| 17 | Ford Kuga | 368,344 | +3.2% |
| 18 | Honda Jazz | 343,688 | −1.3% |
| 19 ▲ 2 places up since End of June 2025 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 336,011 | +6.6% |
| 20 ▼ 1 places down since End of June 2025 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 322,420 | −4.5% |
No models match these filters.
Licensed at the end of June 2026. Change is the percentage change in the number licensed since the end of June 2025. Arrows show movement in rank.
The top 10 at a glance
Licensed cars, top 10 models
| Model | Licensed |
|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 1,234,335 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 899,678 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 894,465 |
| Ford Focus | 842,798 |
| Nissan Qashqai | 685,884 |
| Volkswagen Polo | 664,223 |
| Toyota Yaris | 575,213 |
| MINI Cooper | 514,748 |
| Vauxhall Astra | 513,297 |
| BMW 3 Series | 457,570 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 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 (-30.4%).
| Year | Ford Fiesta | Volkswagen Golf | Vauxhall Corsa | Ford Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,515,652 | 1,016,542 | 1,063,929 | 1,211,590 |
| 2020 | 1,492,118 | 999,314 | 1,034,149 | 1,152,571 |
| 2021 | 1,462,920 | 980,278 | 1,009,970 | 1,085,039 |
| 2022 | 1,431,151 | 962,217 | 990,632 | 1,032,308 |
| 2023 | 1,399,917 | 939,671 | 971,454 | 985,052 |
| 2024 | 1,336,296 | 922,201 | 938,598 | 930,852 |
| 2025 | 1,270,805 | 906,876 | 910,371 | 874,876 |
| 2026 | 1,234,335 | 899,678 | 894,465 | 842,798 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed cars by model | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of June 2026 | 33,796,875 licensed cars | 2 October 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.