The number of vehicles on British roads hit a new high in 2024 while average company car emissions fell significantly, new data reveals.

BEVs account for 3.7% of cars in use

Total vehicle volumes rose 1.4% last year to 41,964,268 units, according to the figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The number of cars in use also reached a new high; up by 1.3% or 470,556 units to 36,165,401. It marks the third consecutive year of growth and the second-biggest volume gain since 2016.

Vans were up too – rising 1.8% to 5,102,180 units, with more than one million of these workhorses added to roads since 2015. Heavy goods vehicle volumes remained almost unchanged, down 0.1% or 364 units, at 625,509 units. Bus and coach volumes fell by 0.1% to 71,718 units, but this means that the UK public transport fleet is now the smallest since records began.

Conventionally fuelled cars remained the most dominant powertrain, with petrol-powered motors rising by 1.0% to 21.0 million, delivering an almost unchanged market share of 58.2%. Diesel volumes fell 4.4% to 11.6 million – making up 32.1% of cars in use – and marking the fuel type’s fifth straight year of decline.

In contrast, the number of fully electric cars in use hit a monumental milestone, rising to more than 1.3 million now on the road, up 38.9% year on year. As a result, BEVs comprise 3.7% of cars in use, up a full percentage point on 2023. The data also reveals a 34.6% increase in combined plug-in vehicles (BEV and plug-in hybrid) – now accounting for one in 20 (5.1%), or 2,157,360, vehicles in use.

Such soaring uptake of lower- and zero-emission technologies across the vehicle parc led to a reduction in average car CO2, which dropped by 1.6%.

Company car emissions posted the largest fall; down 5.6% thanks to tax incentives and expanding electrified model choices.

Private car CO2 fell by a marginal 1.0%, prompting a call from the SMMT for consumer fiscal incentives to deliver rapid decarbonisation.

Vans, which support businesses across the country, are also increasingly going zero-emission, with battery electric van volumes increasing by 31.6% to 80,476 units – or 1.6% of the parc.

The data also shows a slowdown in fleet renewal as Brits hold onto their cars for longer, with 43.4% of the parc over 10 years old and the average age of a car on the road hitting a new high of 9.5 years; up from 9.3 years in 2023 and much older than the average age of eight in 2019. More than two-fifths (43.4%) of the total parc has now been in use for more than a decade, predating the introduction of lower-emission Euro 6 technology which has done much to improve air quality.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Britain’s vehicle parc is growing, providing essential mobility for the nation while reducing its environmental impact. However, there is scope to push environmental improvements much faster as motorists are holding onto their cars for longer, some one and half years longer on average, than only five years ago. Drivers need more incentives and greater confidence in infrastructure investment if we are to replace the high volumes of older high-emission cars with zero-emission alternatives. Success will keep the country on the move while driving up economic growth from every business dependent on road transport.”