There are now more vehicles on the roads than ever before, according to the latest UK car parc data released by the SMMT. However, fleet renewal continues to slow, with average vehicle ages rising, in a positive note for the aftermarket.
According to the latest data, the number of cars on UK roads increased by 1.4% in 2025, as 36,676,185 models were recorded. This was driven not only by a recovering new-car market, but by support from the aftermarket, keeping millions of vehicles moving.
The number of all-electric models has also increased rapidly, with the sector now making up one in 22 models, while electrified powertrains represent one in nine passenger cars.
But as the UK car parc gets older, and with familiar models leading the way, what do the latest figures mean for the UK aftermarket?
Petrol leads in UK car parc
According to exclusive Auto Repair Focus analysis, the figures show that between 2024 and 2025, the number of petrol cars in the UK increased by 0.5%, with around 21.2 million units on the roads. The fuel type held a 57.7% share of the market, although this had fallen by 0.5 percentage points (pp).
Interestingly, the diesel car parc saw a 4.9% fall. While sales of new diesel cars have dropped dramatically over the last few years, the UK car parc is not experiencing this steep decline. While they only made up 30.1% of the market, the 11 million diesel models still represented a healthy portion of the total roadgoing vehicles in the country.
With the fall in new diesel sales, it is likely that the powertrain is a main reason for the increasing age of the parc. Drivers appear to be holding on to their models for longer. For the aftermarket, this is good news. Diesel servicing will be required by garages for years, and with carmakers offering fewer models, older diesels will continue to be a part of the market.
Diesel numbers were almost three times higher than those of full hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) combined. While these markets are growing, their lower volumes mean that it will take some years of new-car sales to see a challenge to traditional internal-combustion engine (ICE) models.
Yet the increase in each of these electrified technologies also signals a warning to those workshops that are not positioned to work on these models. While HEVs and PHEVs still feature the ICE element, the electric drive systems will be off-limits to technicians without training.
Electric surges further
BEVs led the electric drive market in the UK car parc figures. With around 1.8 million units on the road, according to Auto Repair Focus calculations, numbers jumped 34.3% year on year. BEVs made up 4.9% of the market, a rise of 1.2pp.
HEVs were next in terms of volumes, with 1.7 million units. While lower than the BEV volume, the number of full hybrids in the UK car parc increased by 19.2%, with a 4.7% market share up by 0.7pp.
PHEVs were the lowest-volume technology, but the most impressive in terms of growth. With just over 950,000 units, based on Auto Repair Focus analysis, numbers increased by 31.8%. The powertrain only held 2.6% of the market, but this was up 0.6pp.
This growth in PHEV demand could be down to the increase in models available to the market. The Jaecoo 7 led registration figures in March 2026, and with the model being on sale since February 2025, its popularity grew throughout last year. Other Chinese models, from BYD, SAIC and more, arrived in UK showrooms last year as well, many with PHEV powerplants. These models could represent an increase in work for independent garages in the future.
Older cars mean more for aftermarket
The average age of the UK car parc rose again in 2025, to 9.7 years. This was up from the 9.5 years recorded in 2024, as more drivers held on to their vehicles. With the cost-of-living crisis continuing, if not increasing, pressures on households, this rise may well continue.
This is, once again, good news for workshops, with drivers needing to get these older cars serviced, in order to keep them running. The increasing age is also a testament to the aftermarket, keeping these cars on the road.
This fact becomes even more clear when breaking down the figures for each age category. Based on our exclusive analysis of the UK car parc figures, there are over 19.2 million cars aged over 10 years on the road, with 12.1 million of these aged 12 years and older. These models alone make up 33.1 % of the total.
Looking at year-on-year changes, the number of cars under three years of age, making up around 5.8 million units, increased by 7.5% in 2025. However, the three to six-year category saw 4.8 million units, a 12.1% fall.
Models aged between seven and nine years, made up 6.8 million units in the UK car parc, while the 10 to 12-year-old category saw 7.1 million models on the country’s roads.
This means that cars aged over seven years made up 71% of the market. This is a high number, showing that older cars are remaining in service and, hopefully, drivers are turning to servicing, with no dealer ties, to keep them moving.
Ford Fiesta continues to be popular
The high number of older cars can also be seen in the models list for the UK car parc. Once again topping the list for most units on the road was the Ford Fiesta. Its 1.4 million tally for 2025 was down by 6.6%. However, it represented 3.7% of the market, despite having been withdrawn from sale in 2023. The many models in the parc, therefore, will continue to age.
Yet the nearest challenger to the Fiesta, the Vauxhall Corsa, also saw volumes fall, and ended the year quite some distance from its Ford rival. With 992,919 units, it saw levels dip below the one million mark, with volumes down 4.1%. It also represented 2.7% of the parc last year.
The Volkswagen Golf leapt into third position, with 981,882 units. Yet this was also a 1.6% drop compared to 2024. It was also very close to the Vauxhall Corsa, and with good sales in 2026, it could leapfrog its competitor.
The Golf benefited from a slump for the Ford Focus. Another popular Ford model that is no longer on sale, its figures fell 5.6% year on year, according to Auto Repair Focus analysis. Yet unlike its Fiesta sibling, the popularity of the Focus was middling in its later years. It still sat some way above the Nissan Qashqai, in fifth, with 948,212 units, but with no new additions, and potential scrappage to come, it could drop down the charts in the coming years.
What UK car parc figures mean for workshops
While the new car market continues to build back, the UK car parc remains full of older models. Challenges to the sales of new cars, such as a BEV market that is slowing, and a falling petrol and diesel sector, mean that the average age of cars is unlikely to drop any time soon.
For the independent workshop sector, this is an opportunity to build on what is clearly a successful strategy in keeping these older cars on the road. Without the work of garages, the 26 million passenger cars aged over seven years would not be going anywhere.
Yet the figures also provide a cautionary tale, one of awareness over the need to understand new technologies. The increase in cars up to three-years-old reflects new safety systems that will soon enter the independent sector en-mass. In addition, growth in the number of electrified models in the UK car parc cannot be ignored. Like their petrol and diesel counterparts, they will be around for some time.
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