The number of cars on Britain’s roads has fallen for the first time since 2009 – and the average age of a British motor is now the highest ever recorded.
The average age of a car registered in Britain is 8.4 years old, a fact that risks stalling the country’s attempt to reduce transport emissions.
A car from 2020 emits over 18 percent less CO2 than one from 2011.
What’s more, there are still almost a million cars in daily use that date back to 2008 and earlier, with average CO2 emissions even higher than today’s levels.
“Fleet renewal is essential if the UK is to reach its net zero target,” said trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, added: “Despite massive growth last year, just one in 80 vehicles is a plug-in electric car – while nearly 10 million petrol and diesel cars dating back to before 2008 remain on our roads.
“Encouraging drivers to upgrade to the newest, cleanest lowest emission cars, regardless of fuel source, is essential for the UK to meet its ambitious climate change targets.”
Vans in historic high
Vans are proving increasingly popular on UK roads, accounting for 4.6 million of the 40.35 million vehicles in use.
This is also a new record.
The number of vans in use rose 1.7 percent over the past year, thanks in part to the pandemic, providing support to the NHS and delivering food and goods.
Pure electric cars also grew to a record high of just under 200k vehicles, an increase of 114 percent in a year.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles grew 35 percent to 239k, although they still only represent 1.3 percent of cars in use.
Petrol and diesel cars, despite a small decrease in both, still account for 97.1 percent of cars on British roads – that’s 34 million vehicles.
The SMMT Motorparc data also revealed superminis and family hatchbacks remain Britain’s most popular cars, making up 6 in 10 vehicles in service – almost 21 million cars.
Surprisingly, SUVs are well back in third place on 4.6 million vehicles, although they still account for 13.2 percent of cars on the road, a figure that’s growing all the time.
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