Cars on UK roads
How many BMW 3 Series cars are on UK roads?
457,570 BMW 3 Series cars were licensed in Great Britain at the end of June 2026, with another 112,668 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT and DVLA licensing statistics. That is down 4.8% on a year earlier and 22.1% of all licensed BMW cars, making it number 1 of the 26 BMW models listed here and number 11 of 408 models nationally.
Data to 2026-06-30 · Page updated 2026-09-28 · Publisher: 73 Auto
- Licensed in GB
- 457,570
- end of June 2026, DfT VEH0120
- Change in a year
- −4.8%
- all cars: +1.5%
- Typical year of first use
- 2014
- median, UK, 31 Dec 2025 (all cars: 2016)
What the numbers say about the BMW 3 Series
The number of BMW 3 Seriess on the road is down 4.8% on a year earlier, behind the +1.5% for all cars and behind BMW as a whole (+1.2%). It peaked at 629,195 at the end of June 2016 and has fallen 27.3% since.
10,400 BMW 3 Seriess were first registered in the UK from July 2025 to June 2026, 55% of them plug-in hybrid electric (petrol).
51% of licensed BMW 3 Seriess are diesel, against 27% of all cars. Electric and plug-in hybrid versions make up 12.3% (all cars: 8.8%).
60% of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier (all cars: 44%), and 19.8% of registered BMW 3 Seriess are SORN against 9.9% of all cars, a sign of cars kept off the road as projects, second cars or awaiting repair.
Of the 36,244 BMW 3 Seriess first registered in 2015, 85% were still licensed at the end of 2025, against 86% of all cars first registered that year (73 Auto analysis; see the table below).
BMW 3 Seriess licensed, year by year
Official data: cars licensed (taxed, or exempt and on the road) in Great Britain at the end of each June. The peak in this series was 629,195 at the end of June 2016.
| Quarter end | Licensed | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 457,570 | −4.8% |
| June 2025 | 480,391 | −4.1% |
| June 2024 | 500,974 | −4.1% |
| June 2023 | 522,257 | −3.8% |
| June 2022 | 542,899 | −2.5% |
| June 2021 | 556,820 | −0.7% |
| June 2020 | 560,809 | −3.4% |
| June 2019 | 580,539 | −3.6% |
| June 2018 | 601,944 | −2.9% |
| June 2017 | 619,862 | −1.5% |
| June 2016 | 629,195 | — |
BMW 3 Seriess by fuel type
| Fuel (DfT category) | Licensed | Share | All cars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 232,495 | 50.8% | 27.5% |
| Petrol | 153,195 | 33.5% | 54.3% |
| Plug-in hybrid electric (petrol) | 56,101 | 12.3% | 2.9% |
| Hybrid electric (diesel) | 9,758 | 2.1% | 0.3% |
| Hybrid electric (petrol) | 5,962 | 1.3% | 9.0% |
| Gas | 59 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
How old BMW 3 Seriess on the road are
Official data from DfT table VEH0124: cars licensed and SORN at 31 December 2025 in the whole UK, by the year the car was first used (for a car imported used, that is its first use abroad). This table is annual and UK-wide, so its total (472,393 licensed) differs from the quarterly Great Britain figure.
| First used | Licensed | Share of licensed | SORN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8,772 | 1.9% | 154 |
| 2024 | 13,455 | 2.9% | 134 |
| 2023 | 9,892 | 2.1% | 51 |
| 2022 | 10,216 | 2.2% | 76 |
| 2021 | 20,106 | 4.3% | 268 |
| 2020 | 18,681 | 4.0% | 275 |
| 2019 | 23,871 | 5.1% | 330 |
| 2018 | 23,500 | 5.0% | 447 |
| 2017 | 29,485 | 6.2% | 629 |
| 2016 | 30,658 | 6.5% | 660 |
| 2015 | 30,863 | 6.5% | 749 |
| 2014 | 31,251 | 6.6% | 1,097 |
| 2013 | 32,778 | 6.9% | 1,718 |
| 2012 | 30,473 | 6.5% | 2,290 |
| 2011 | 23,337 | 4.9% | 3,326 |
| 2010 | 20,945 | 4.4% | 3,530 |
| 2009 | 18,226 | 3.9% | 3,395 |
| 2008 | 16,588 | 3.5% | 5,185 |
| 2007 | 18,576 | 3.9% | 7,034 |
| 2006 | 13,229 | 2.8% | 6,280 |
| 2005 and earlier | 47,491 | 10.0% | 82,987 |
How many BMW 3 Seriess are still on the road
73 Auto analysis of two official tables: cars first registered in the UK each year (VEH0160) and cars of that year of first use still licensed at 31 December 2025 (VEH0124). The ratio is an indication, not a tracked cohort: imported used cars and cars exported, scrapped or declared off the road all move the figure, and years where the ratio exceeded 100% or fewer than 1,000 cars were registered are left out.
| Year | First registered | Licensed end 2025 | Still licensed | All cars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 16,373 | 13,455 | 82.2% | 93.9% |
| 2023 | 12,216 | 9,892 | 81.0% | 93.5% |
| 2022 | 13,822 | 10,216 | 73.9% | 90.4% |
| 2021 | 26,369 | 20,106 | 76.3% | 91.6% |
| 2020 | 23,433 | 18,681 | 79.7% | 91.8% |
| 2019 | 27,487 | 23,871 | 86.8% | 91.3% |
| 2018 | 27,316 | 23,500 | 86.0% | 90.0% |
| 2017 | 35,009 | 29,485 | 84.2% | 88.8% |
| 2016 | 36,002 | 30,658 | 85.2% | 87.6% |
| 2015 | 36,244 | 30,863 | 85.2% | 86.0% |
Other BMW models on UK roads
| Model | Licensed | Share of BMW | Change in a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMW 1 Series | 427,661 | 20.7% | +0.1% |
| BMW 5 Series | 186,593 | 9.0% | −4.5% |
| BMW 2 Series | 161,473 | 7.8% | +5.1% |
| BMW X1 | 152,498 | 7.4% | +11.1% |
| BMW X3 | 141,867 | 6.9% | +3.8% |
| BMW 4 Series | 114,099 | 5.5% | +0.1% |
| BMW X5 | 100,938 | 4.9% | +0.7% |
| BMW i4 | 42,507 | 2.1% | +26.2% |
| BMW Z4 | 33,510 | 1.6% | −2.3% |
| BMW X2 | 27,330 | 1.3% | +15.7% |
| BMW i3 | 24,982 | 1.2% | no change |
| BMW iX | 19,514 | 0.9% | +27.8% |
Limitations
Licensed means taxed or tax-exempt and allowed on the road at the quarter end; SORN cars are registered but declared off the road. DfT groups cars by its own “generic model” (BMW 3 SERIES), which 73 Auto maps to the BMW 3 Series as named in our list-price catalogue; body styles and derivatives sold under that name are included. The Great Britain quarterly figures and the UK annual age table are separate official tables, so their totals differ slightly.
Check a specific BMW 3 Series before you buy
Enter the registration to see that BMW 3 Series's own MOT history, tax status and what it will cost to run. Your first check is free and shows the vehicle summary and its headline ownership cost. The category-by-category breakdown is part of a paid check.
UK number plate or 17-character VIN
Where these figures come from
- Vehicle licensing statistics data files: VEH0120 (GB), VEH0124 and VEH0160 (UK) — Department for Transport and DVLA. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Shares, changes, rankings and the still-licensed indication (73 Auto analysis of the DfT files) — 73 Auto. Derived figures.
Figures labelled as 73 Auto estimates are our own analysis of these sources, set out in the methodology and data sources. To report a factual error, see corrections.