New zero emissions vehicles taking to UK roads have jumped by a fifth compared to the previous year. But people with older cars continue to cling on to them: the average age of a car remains at 10 years compared to the eight of pre-pandemic.
Today’s release of Vehicle licensing statistics*, United Kingdom: 2024 by the Department for Transport shows:
Comparing 2024 with 2023, in the UK, there were:
- 2,605,000 vehicles registered for the first time, an increase of 3% (VEH0150)
- 410,000 zero-emission vehicles registered for the first time, an increase of 20% (VEH1153a)
- 382,000 zero-emission cars registered for the first time, an increase of 22%
At the end of December 2024, compared to December 2023, in the UK, there were:
- 41.7 million licensed vehicles, an increase of 1% (VEH0101a)
- 1,394,000 licensed zero-emission vehicles on the roads, an increase of 37% (VEH1103a), including 1,287,000 zero-emission cars, an increase of 38%
At the end of 2024 zero-emission vehicles accounted for 3.4% of all road-using vehicles, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from the end of 2023. Vehicle licensing statistics, United Kingdom: 2024 – GOV.UK
Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of roads policy, says: “The march of the electric vehicles continues, with the registration of new electric cars boosted by more than 22% in the past year to make them 19.1% of all new cars sold. The transformation of the UK car population is clearly happening.
“However, a combination of financial pressures on car owners and the legacy of 2017’s switch to a standard rate of Vehicle Excise Duty* has led to owners of older cars clinging on to them. With standard car tax now at £195 a year, hanging on to a vehicle that could be paying as little as £20 a year in tax is a huge incentive.”
“Overall, today’s figures present a mixed picture with a leap in those embracing new technology, whilst others were holding on to their older vehicles longer perhaps reflecting the economy and reticence to go electric.”
* V149 Rates of vehicle tax
