The amount of licenced vehicles in Great Britain has increased every year since the end of WWII, except in 1991.
• By the end of 2013, there were 35 million licensed vehicles on the road in Great Britain.
• 83.2% – Cars , 1.3% – Heavy goods vehicles, 0.5% – Bus & coaches, 9.6% – vans, 3.5% – motorcycles, 1.9% other
• New vehicle registrations have been on the rise since 2011. 2,595,713 vehicles were registered last year; that’s a 10.6% increase from 2012.
Around the world
When compared to the rest of the world, the UK came 8th in registrations or sales of new vehicles.
China – 21,984,100
USA – 15,883,969
Japan – 5,375,513
Brazil – 3,767,370
Germany – 3,257,718
India – 3,241,209
Russia – 2,950,483
UK – 2,595,713
France – 2,201,068
Canada – 1,779,860
The UK’s favourite cars from 2013
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), these were the most registered car models in 2013.
Ford Fiesta – 121,929
Ford Focus – 87,350
Vauxhall Corsa – 84,275
Vauxhall Astra – 68,070
Volkswagen Golf – 64,951
Nissan Qashqai – 50,211
BMW 3 Series – 43,494
Volkswagen Polo – 42,609
BMW 1 Series – 41,883
Peugeot 208 – 38,616
Bestselling models by sales type
Business
Vauxhall Corsa – 10,390
Ford Fiesta – 4,952
Citroen C1 – 4,290
Fleet
Ford Focus – 55,017
Vauxhall Astra – 49,386
Volkswagen Golf – 43,441
Private
Ford Fiesta – 74,698
Vauxhall Corsa – 34,553
Ford Focus – 28,926
The Average Car
In the UK, the average car is: Silver, 7.7 years old and from the Supermini segment.
• It’s estimated that 74% of all adults in the UK have a full driving licence for a car – that’s an estimated 32 million people.
• In 2013, 81% of men and 68% of women had a licence.
• The average annual mileage Brits get out of their cars is 7,900 miles. In 2002, this figure was much larger at 9,200 miles.
• 59% of household vehicles are not garaged and parked on private property overnight. Only 14% are secured in a garage.
• Almost half (48%) of all cars in the UK have some form of satellite navigation.
Environment
During 2013, 4,359 ultra-low emission vehicles were introduced to UK roads. Of this, 3,625 of the cars and vans were eligible for government Plug-in grants – that’s 47% more than 2012.
CO2 emissions from new cars in the UK fell by 3.4% from 2012. The average car now emits 128 grams of CO2 per km. That’s a 28% fall from 2001.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, Europe’s cars, vans, trucks and buses are the cleanest, safest and quietest in the world.
• Since 1970, noise from passenger cars has reduced by 90%.
• A single car in the 1970s would pollute emissions equivalent to 100 cars today.
• Modern tucks need only 1 litre of fuel to transport 1 tonne of cargo over a distance of 100km.
• A bus or truck built in the 1980s was louder than the combined noise of 25 today.
The decline of new car CO2 emissions
2001 – 177.8
2002 – 175.4
2003 – 172.6
2004 – 171.3
2005 – 169.7
2006 – 167.7
2007 – 164.7
2008 – 158.2
2009 – 149.8
2010 – 144.3
2011 – 138.2
2012 – 133.0
2013 – 128.4
2014 –
2015 – EU Manufacture Target (130 grams per km)
2020 – EU Manufacture Target (95 grams per km)
Manufacturing and Exports
1,597,433 vehicles were manufactured in the UK in 2013. Analysts predict that this will increase to two million cars per year by 2017.
The top three car brands manufactured in the UK (2013)
Nissan – 501,756
Land Rover – 340,309
Toyota – 179,233
According to data from the SMMT, 77.3% of vehicles built in the UK were exported.
We export vehicles to more than 100 countries around the world.
Top 10 non-EU export destinations
China – 10.0%
Russia – 9.5%
US – 9.2%
Norway – 3.4%
Turkey – 2.8%
South Africa – 2.3%
Switzerland – 1.6%
Japan – 1.3%
Australia – 1.2%
Israel – 1.2%
Created in collaboration with Motorparks.co.uk
