Makes / Mercedes-Benz / S Class
S Class
Mercedes-Benz · on record 1994 to 2025
DECLINING
Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.
22,455
licensed vehicles
2025 census
2025 census
73.4% of the peak fleet remains licensed
8,855
declared SORN
total surviving
peak 30,598 in 2016 · −1,354 vehicles a year, five year trend
Population history
Licensed and SORN vehicles at each census. Filters apply to the population, MOT and registration figures together.
Licensed
SORN
Latest census observation
At the average decline recorded over the latest five years, the licensed fleet would reach zero around 2041.
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.
Pass rate by year
| Failure reason | Failures | Share of all tests |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 27 | 4.3% |
| A rigid brake pipe excessively chafed, corroded or damaged | 14 | 2.2% |
| The windscreen washers do not provide enough liquid to clear the windscreen in conjunction with the wiper(s) | 10 | 1.6% |
| Excessive play in a ball joint | 10 | 1.6% |
| A low braking effort is recorded from the parking brake on any wheel, indicating clearly that the brake is not functioning correctly | 10 | 1.6% |
| Excessive play in a suspension ball joint | 9 | 1.4% |
| Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective | 8 | 1.3% |
| An obligatory lamp inoperative or less than 50% of the light sources illuminating | 8 | 1.3% |
Counted across every recorded test, 2005 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.
Where the S Class 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ST | 3 | 67% |
| RH | 2 | 100% |
| GU | 1 | 100% |
| PR | 1 | 100% |
| BN | 1 | 100% |
| SA | 1 | 100% |
| CO | 1 | 0% |
How this record was calculated
LATEST CENSUS2025
POPULATION SOURCEDVLA VEH0220 quarterly
HISTORY SOURCEDVLA VEH0120 GB · to 2013
MOT SOURCEDVSA results · to 2025
FAMILY DEFINITIONMERCEDES S CLASS
PROCESSED20 Jul 2026
Full methodology
Population figures count vehicles recorded as licensed or SORN in the DVLA quarterly extract. Figures before 2014 cover Great Britain only. Vehicles are grouped into this family by the DVLA GenModel key shown above, with routing rules for known inconsistencies.
Variant figures are parsed from raw DVLA model descriptions and the original string is always retained. 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.