Vehicle licensing
This series presents information on licensed vehicles and new vehicle registrations. They cover motor vehicles that were licensed, or were subject to a statutory off-road notification (SORN), in Great Britain.
Most of the statistics are derived from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which administers vehicle registration and licensing records in Great Britain.
There is a small range of additional statistics that have been obtained from other data suppliers, including reputable industry bodies, in order to provide wider context.
Browse statistical releases within this series
Browse statistical tables within this series
Topics within the vehicle licensing statistics series
Tables containing data on vehicles within other DfT series:
Notes and guidance
Most of the statistics presented are for Great Britain, except for table VEH0170 which covers the United Kingdom.
Statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Department for Regional Development, Northern Ireland. They are directly comparable to the statistics published on this site and use the same tax class, body types and make/model names. We will work with Northern Irish colleagues to produce statistics for the whole of the United Kingdom. We aim to publish these in April 2012.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) also produces some statistics for the UK. These are collated directly from the manufacturers and therefore only report new vehicles, rather than all new registrations.
In addition, there are some minor differences in body type classifications used. This means that although the broad trends between the SMMT data and the statistics published in this series tend to be similar, there will be some minor differences.
Monthly and quarterly data tables
Most of the tables presented here are published annually, with a few exceptions:
This table presents a long-term time series using stable definitions. Therefore it is updated as a ‘standalone’ output with no accompanying documentation. However, users should note that the table exhibits strong seasonality. New registration data generally shows peaks of new vehicle registrations in March and September and troughs in February and August. These correspond with the release of the new registration plates in March and September each year.
New registration statistics more closely reflect the wider state of the British economy than the total licensed vehicles statistics. In general, figures are higher during periods of strong economic growth and lower during times of low growth or recession.
These statistics are can also be affected by government actions such as regulatory or administrative changes, and stimulus schemes. For example, the Vehicle Scrappage Scheme, which ran from May 2009 to March 2010, had a clear upward effect on new vehicle registration statistics during this period.
The following tables are published on a quarterly basis and, since September 2011, have been accompanied by a new statistical release:
Table reporting quarterly licensed stock generally shows higher numbers of licensed vehicles in summer and lower numbers in winter, especially for motorcycles and ‘classic’ vehicles. This occurs mainly because poorer weather, wetter roads and the presence of grit or salt, leads to many such vehicles being taken off the road during the winter. Owners apply for a Statutory Off Road Notification for the vehicle.
- VEH0120 to VEH0123 – Vehicles by make / model and vehicles by postcode, Great Britain, quarterly from 1994
These tables provide detailed information about the number of vehicles licensed or with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) broken down by make and model (VEH0120 and VEH0121) and postcode area (VEH0122 and VEH0123).
The quarterly bulletin will be released in June (with statistics for quarter 1, as at 31st March), September (with statistics for quarter 2, as at 30th June) and December (with statistics for quarter 3, as at 30th September). There is no quarterly bulletin for quarter 4 (as at 31st December) as these figures are released in the annual release each April.
Compendium of motorcycling statistics
The last Compendium of motorcycling statistics was published in 2009. Although the bulletin itself is no longer produced, all the tables have been retained within vehicle licensing statistics.
Tables which include specific entries on motorcycling can be found at this link. The index document also marks up which tables contain statistics about motorcycles.
National Statistics
All of the statistics published in this series are National Statistics, with the following exceptions:
- VEH0320, VEH0322 (motorcycling)
Supplied by the Motorcycle Industry Association
- VEH0342, VEH0345 (driving tests undertaken)
Derived from Driving Standards Agency operational data
- VEH0350, VEH0351 (MOT tests undertaken)
Derived from Vehicle and Operator Services Agency operational data
The Department’s view is that all statistics which are not designated as National Statistics are robust and have been produced to a suitable standard. They are provided to give extra context.
These statistics are National Statistics, and are currently being assessed by the United Kingdom Statistics Authority (UKSA). A final report was published in July 2011.
Technical information
- Vehicle licensing statistics: notes and definitions (PDF – 60 KB)
- Description of 2010 revisions to previously published statistics (PDF – 26 KB)
- Guidance on using the make / model tables (PDF – 36 KB)
Links to external websites
- Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
- Northern Ireland vehicle licensing statistics
- Historical statistical bulletins about vehicles are available at The National Archives web archive
Pre-release access lists
These lists detail the post-holders that are given pre-release access for up to 24 hours prior to release.
Contact us
- vehicles.stats@dft.gsi.gov.uk
- Phone: 020 7944 3077
