Cars on UK roads
How many Land Rover Defender cars are on UK roads?
70,681 Land Rover Defender cars were licensed in Great Britain at the end of June 2026, with another 4,740 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT and DVLA licensing statistics. That is up 20.1% on a year earlier and 7.6% of all licensed Land Rover cars, making it number 6 of the 7 Land Rover models listed here and number 118 of 408 models nationally.
Data to 2026-06-30 · Page updated 2026-09-28 · Publisher: 73 Auto
- Licensed in GB
- 70,681
- end of June 2026, DfT VEH0120
- Change in a year
- +20.1%
- all cars: +1.5%
- Typical year of first use
- 2023
- median, UK, 31 Dec 2025 (all cars: 2016)
What the numbers say about the Land Rover Defender
The number of Land Rover Defenders on the road is up 20.1% on a year earlier, ahead of the +1.5% for all cars and ahead of Land Rover as a whole (+1.5%). That is the highest quarter-end figure in the series, which starts in June 2016.
14,087 Land Rover Defenders were first registered in the UK from July 2025 to June 2026, 84% of them diesel.
82% of licensed Land Rover Defenders are diesel, against 27% of all cars. Electric and plug-in hybrid versions make up 8.3% (all cars: 8.8%).
18% of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier (all cars: 44%), and 6.3% of registered Land Rover Defenders are SORN against 9.9% of all cars.
Of the 4,595 Land Rover Defenders first registered in 2020, 86% were still licensed at the end of 2025, against 92% of all cars first registered that year (73 Auto analysis; see the table below).
Land Rover Defenders 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 70,681 at the end of June 2026, the latest quarter, so numbers are still at their highest.
| Quarter end | Licensed | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 70,681 | +20.0% |
| June 2025 | 58,878 | +23.8% |
| June 2024 | 47,556 | +29.5% |
| June 2023 | 36,722 | +41.8% |
| June 2022 | 25,903 | +27.7% |
| June 2021 | 20,282 | +51.6% |
| June 2020 | 13,381 | +3.2% |
| June 2019 | 12,961 | −2.3% |
| June 2018 | 13,264 | −2.0% |
| June 2017 | 13,530 | −2.0% |
| June 2016 | 13,808 | — |
Land Rover Defenders by fuel type
| Fuel (DfT category) | Licensed | Share | All cars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 57,717 | 81.7% | 27.5% |
| Petrol | 7,098 | 10.0% | 54.3% |
| Plug-in hybrid electric (petrol) | 5,846 | 8.3% | 2.9% |
How old Land Rover Defenders 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 (65,310 licensed) differs from the quarterly Great Britain figure.
| First used | Licensed | Share of licensed | SORN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12,179 | 18.6% | 144 |
| 2024 | 11,896 | 18.2% | 321 |
| 2023 | 11,546 | 17.7% | 182 |
| 2022 | 8,134 | 12.4% | 173 |
| 2021 | 6,111 | 9.4% | 209 |
| 2020 | 3,933 | 6.0% | 163 |
| 2019 | 19 | 0.0% | 4 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 |
| 2015 | 8 | 0.0% | 6 |
| 2014 | 19 | 0.0% | 2 |
| 2013 | 4 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 2012 | 8 | 0.0% | 5 |
| 2011 | 5 | 0.0% | 4 |
| 2010 | 608 | 0.9% | 99 |
| 2009 | 927 | 1.4% | 147 |
| 2008 | 1,242 | 1.9% | 242 |
| 2007 | 1,324 | 2.0% | 261 |
| 2006 | 1,229 | 1.9% | 220 |
| 2005 and earlier | 6,118 | 9.4% | 2,234 |
How many Land Rover Defenders 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 | 12,832 | 11,896 | 92.7% | 93.9% |
| 2023 | 12,490 | 11,546 | 92.4% | 93.5% |
| 2022 | 9,053 | 8,134 | 89.8% | 90.4% |
| 2021 | 7,119 | 6,111 | 85.8% | 91.6% |
| 2020 | 4,595 | 3,933 | 85.6% | 91.8% |
Other Land Rover models on UK roads
| Model | Licensed | Share of Land Rover | Change in a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land Rover Discovery | 253,804 | 27.2% | −1.3% |
| Land Rover Range Rover Evoque | 221,449 | 23.7% | +2.1% |
| Land Rover Range Rover Sport | 145,389 | 15.6% | +3.9% |
| Land Rover Freelander | 94,503 | 10.1% | −8.6% |
| Land Rover Range Rover | 88,826 | 9.5% | +0.9% |
| Land Rover Range Rover Velar | 48,547 | 5.2% | +7.1% |
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” (LAND ROVER DEFENDER), which 73 Auto maps to the Land Rover Defender 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 Land Rover Defender before you buy
Enter the registration to see that Land Rover Defender'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.