Epica
Chevrolet · on record 2007 to 2025
The Chevrolet Epica was a large front wheel drive saloon developed by GM Korea, notable for using smooth 6 cylinder petrol and diesel engines in a value oriented executive package. It replaced the Daewoo Evanda in spirit but remained a niche choice in Britain against better established European saloons. Limited sales mean surviving Epicas are uncommon, with rarity resulting more from market position than from deliberate collector demand.
Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.
2025 census
6.1% of the peak fleet remains licensed
peak 573 in 2011 · −31 vehicles a year, five year trend
Population history
Licensed and SORN vehicles at each census. The filters below apply to the family population, MOT and registration figures. They do not alter the generation history above.
At the average decline recorded over the latest five years, the licensed fleet would reach zero around 2026.
Illustrative projection only; vehicle populations rarely decline linearly. Late fleets typically flatten as surviving examples enter preservation.
Inside the surviving fleet
AutoCensus parses every DVLA variant description, so the fleet can be read by fuel and specification rather than as one number.
First registrations by year
When surviving examples first joined the British fleet.
New registrations
Vehicles first registered each year. A fleet still being sold shows here; a finished one shows only imports.
MOT reliability
DVSA test results for this family, 2005 to 2025.
| Failure reason | Failures | Share of all tests |
|---|---|---|
| A rear registration plate lamp with any lamp not working | 244 | 4.0% |
| An obligatory lamp inoperative or less than 50% of the light sources illuminating | 212 | 3.5% |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 189 | 3.1% |
| An insecure, split or missing steering rack gaiter | 167 | 2.7% |
| The grooves of the tread pattern are not at least 1.6mm throughout a continuous band comprising the central three-quarters of the breadth of tread, and round the entire outer circumference of the tyre | 164 | 2.7% |
| A wiper blade insecure, missing or in such a condition that it does not clear the windscreen effectively to give the driver an adequate view of the road (through the windscreen) to the left and right sides of the vehicle, as well as to the front | 157 | 2.6% |
| A brake lining or pad insecure or less than 1.5mm thick at any point | 157 | 2.6% |
| A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 123 | 2.0% |
Counted across every recorded test, 2005 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.
Where the Epica remains
Based on MOT test locations, 2025. Test location is a proxy: a vehicle is counted where it was last tested, not where it is kept.
| Postcode area | Vehicles tested | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| LE | 5 | 60% |
| S | 5 | 60% |
| L | 4 | 75% |
| BB | 3 | 100% |
| DN | 3 | 67% |
| M | 3 | 100% |
| NG | 3 | 33% |
| LN | 2 | 50% |
| CO | 2 | 100% |
| CV | 2 | 50% |
| LS | 2 | 50% |
| TQ | 2 | 50% |
| TN | 2 | 50% |
| PE | 2 | 50% |
| IG | 1 | 100% |
| BR | 1 | 100% |
| TR | 1 | 100% |
| RH | 1 | 0% |
| DL | 1 | 100% |
| UB | 1 | 100% |
| OL | 1 | 100% |
| GL | 1 | 100% |
| B | 1 | 100% |
| G | 1 | 0% |
| WN | 1 | 100% |
| CB | 1 | 100% |
| CR | 1 | 100% |
| CH | 1 | 0% |
| SN | 1 | 0% |
| FY | 1 | 0% |
| ST | 1 | 100% |
| RM | 1 | 100% |
| GU | 1 | 100% |
How this record was calculated
Full methodology
Population history combines DVLA VEH0120 Q4 census observations through 2013 with the annual VEH0220 census from 2014 onward. Figures before 2014 cover Great Britain only. Historical VEH0120 is used only when its overlapping UK observations reconcile to the current canonical family definition. Vehicles are grouped into this family using the DVLA GenModel together with durable routing rules for known inconsistencies.
Variant figures are parsed from raw DVLA model descriptions and the original string is always retained. Configuration is only assigned where the model description explicitly identifies it; a blank configuration is not treated as a two door Wrangler. Blank transmission fields are shown as manual because DVLA records the field for automatic vehicles.
MOT figures count tests, not vehicles, and geographic figures count each vehicle at its most recent test location. The decline projection is a straight line fitted to the latest five years and is illustrative only.