Cars on UK roads
Smart cars on UK roads
86,055 Smart cars were licensed in Great Britain at the end of June 2026 (DfT and DVLA licensing statistics), 0.3% of all licensed cars and number 33 of the 47 makes listed here. That is down 1.1% on a year earlier; the Smart Fortwo is the most common, with 52,017 (60.5%).
Data to 2026-06-30 · Page updated 2026-09-28 · Publisher: 73 Auto
- Licensed in GB
- 86,055
- end of June 2026
- Change in a year
- −1.1%
- all cars: +1.5%
- First registered, last 12 months
- 2,186
- UK, July 2025 to June 2026
Smart models on UK roads
Official counts for every Smart model with at least 5,000 licensed cars; together they cover 87.6% of licensed Smarts. Shares and changes are 73 Auto calculations.
How the Smart fleet is changing
11.7% of licensed Smarts are battery electric, plug-in hybrid or range-extended, against 8.8% of all cars. Half of the Smarts licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier (all cars: 2016). Over five years the number licensed is down 7.7%.
Smart cars 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 96,846 at the end of September 2019.
| Quarter end | Licensed | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 86,055 | −1.1% |
| June 2025 | 86,987 | −2.2% |
| June 2024 | 88,912 | −1.5% |
| June 2023 | 90,277 | −2.5% |
| June 2022 | 92,576 | −0.7% |
| June 2021 | 93,208 | −1.2% |
| June 2020 | 94,369 | −2.2% |
| June 2019 | 96,524 | +3.1% |
| June 2018 | 93,608 | +4.9% |
| June 2017 | 89,243 | +12.1% |
| June 2016 | 79,596 | — |
Smart cars by fuel type
| Fuel (DfT category) | Licensed | Share | All cars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 71,883 | 83.5% | 54.3% |
| Battery electric | 10,095 | 11.7% | 5.9% |
| Diesel | 4,047 | 4.7% | 27.5% |
| Gas | 28 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
How old Smart cars 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 (87,203 licensed) differs from the quarterly Great Britain figure.
| First used | Licensed | Share of licensed | SORN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,744 | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2024 | 1,922 | 2.2% | 7 |
| 2023 | 703 | 0.8% | 12 |
| 2022 | 1,042 | 1.2% | 34 |
| 2021 | 1,238 | 1.4% | 47 |
| 2020 | 1,118 | 1.3% | 33 |
| 2019 | 3,677 | 4.2% | 52 |
| 2018 | 6,927 | 7.9% | 104 |
| 2017 | 9,222 | 10.6% | 210 |
| 2016 | 10,585 | 12.1% | 205 |
| 2015 | 7,347 | 8.4% | 187 |
| 2014 | 3,620 | 4.2% | 140 |
| 2013 | 4,302 | 4.9% | 231 |
| 2012 | 4,448 | 5.1% | 255 |
| 2011 | 3,675 | 4.2% | 362 |
| 2010 | 5,052 | 5.8% | 667 |
| 2009 | 5,335 | 6.1% | 731 |
| 2008 | 4,357 | 5.0% | 608 |
| 2007 | 2,576 | 2.9% | 624 |
| 2006 | 2,399 | 2.8% | 1,021 |
| 2005 and earlier | 5,914 | 6.8% | 5,394 |
How many Smart cars 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 | 1,992 | 1,922 | 96.5% | 93.9% |
| 2022 | 1,209 | 1,042 | 86.2% | 90.4% |
| 2021 | 1,543 | 1,238 | 80.2% | 91.6% |
| 2020 | 1,355 | 1,118 | 82.5% | 91.8% |
| 2019 | 3,997 | 3,677 | 92.0% | 91.3% |
| 2018 | 7,594 | 6,927 | 91.2% | 90.0% |
| 2017 | 10,290 | 9,222 | 89.6% | 88.8% |
| 2016 | 11,981 | 10,585 | 88.3% | 87.6% |
| 2015 | 8,440 | 7,347 | 87.1% | 86.0% |
Limitations
Make totals include every car DfT records under Smart, including models below the 5,000-car threshold and cars whose model DfT does not know. Licensed means taxed or tax-exempt at the quarter end; SORN cars are excluded from the licensed count.
Looking at a used Smart? Check that exact car
Enter the registration to see its MOT history, tax status and what it will cost to own. 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.