Civometry

Licensed cars: record highs and lows

The extremes of licensed cars as published by Department for Transport, across the 47 periods held here (2014 Q3 to 2026 Q1). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.

The latest figure, 34,627,414 in 2026 Q1, is the highest in the whole published series of 47 periods. The rule: a period counts as beaten only when its figure is strictly below the latest, and the claim is only made when it reaches back at least five years.

Highest published

34,627,4142026 Q1

Lowest published

30,330,2252014 Q4

The full series

Licensed cars: 2014 Q3 to 2026 Q1CoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabour010m20m30m20142016201820202022202420262014 Q3: 30,647,567 cars · published 15 July 20262014 Q4: 30,330,225 cars · published 15 July 20262015 Q1: 30,567,568 cars · published 15 July 20262015 Q2: 30,796,694 cars · published 15 July 20262015 Q3: 30,981,124 cars · published 15 July 20262015 Q4: 30,987,527 cars · published 15 July 20262016 Q1: 31,285,085 cars · published 15 July 20262016 Q2: 31,474,797 cars · published 15 July 20262016 Q3: 31,636,988 cars · published 15 July 20262016 Q4: 31,792,259 cars · published 15 July 20262017 Q1: 32,023,848 cars · published 15 July 20262017 Q2: 32,170,427 cars · published 15 July 20262017 Q3: 32,302,822 cars · published 15 July 20262017 Q4: 32,159,943 cars · published 15 July 20262018 Q1: 32,313,922 cars · published 15 July 20262018 Q2: 32,471,348 cars · published 15 July 20262018 Q3: 32,578,189 cars · published 15 July 20262018 Q4: 32,493,258 cars · published 15 July 20262019 Q1: 32,669,954 cars · published 15 July 20262019 Q2: 32,833,406 cars · published 15 July 20262019 Q3: 32,973,206 cars · published 15 July 20262019 Q4: 32,884,320 cars · published 15 July 20262020 Q1: 32,653,753 cars · published 15 July 20262020 Q2: 32,608,710 cars · published 15 July 20262020 Q3: 32,869,865 cars · published 15 July 20262020 Q4: 32,697,408 cars · published 15 July 20262021 Q1: 32,730,099 cars · published 15 July 20262021 Q2: 33,047,879 cars · published 15 July 20262021 Q3: 33,018,787 cars · published 15 July 20262021 Q4: 32,889,462 cars · published 15 July 20262022 Q1: 32,937,790 cars · published 15 July 20262022 Q2: 33,101,930 cars · published 15 July 20262022 Q3: 33,154,687 cars · published 15 July 20262022 Q4: 33,187,308 cars · published 15 July 20262023 Q1: 33,265,639 cars · published 15 July 20262023 Q2: 33,488,171 cars · published 15 July 20262023 Q3: 33,582,175 cars · published 15 July 20262023 Q4: 33,579,946 cars · published 15 July 20262024 Q1: 33,734,503 cars · published 15 July 20262024 Q2: 33,935,937 cars · published 15 July 20262024 Q3: 34,025,020 cars · published 15 July 20262024 Q4: 33,966,632 cars · published 15 July 20262025 Q1: 34,157,202 cars · published 15 July 20262025 Q2: 34,353,216 cars · published 15 July 20262025 Q3: 34,486,332 cars · published 15 July 20262025 Q4: 34,485,453 cars · published 15 July 20262026 Q1: 34,627,414 cars · published 15 July 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

What a record here is, and is not

A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.