1300

Volkswagen · on record 1994 to 2025

The Volkswagen 1300 belongs to an earlier naming era, when model numbers often described engine size, market position or a factory series rather than a modern family name. This numeric designation belongs to Volkswagen's air cooled era, when engine capacity and factory type often formed the registration model label for Beetles, Type 3 cars or closely related variants. A surviving 1300 is now chiefly a historic vehicle, sustained by restoration, club knowledge and owners prepared to maintain machinery far beyond its original everyday life.

GROWING

Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.

787 licensed vehicles
2025 census

40.7% of the peak fleet remains licensed PEAK PREDATES RECORDS

823

declared SORN

total surviving

peak 1,934 in 1994 · +4 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.

Licensed SORN Latest census observation SOURCE DVLA VEH0120 / VEH0220

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.

Recent UK first registrations

This family is no longer sold new. These figures are imports and historic vehicles joining the British register for the first time.

MOT reliability

DVSA test results for this family, 2005 to 2025.

Pass rate by year

Failure reason	Failures	Share of all tests
Deliberate modification which significantly reduces the original strength, excessive corrosion, severe distortion, a fracture or an inadequate repair of a load bearing member or its supporting structure or supporting panelling within 30cm of any sub-	752	9.8%
The windscreen washers do not provide enough liquid to clear the windscreen in conjunction with the wiper(s)	668	8.7%
Deliberate modification which significantly reduces the original strength, excessive corrosion, severe distortion, a fracture or an inadequate repair of a load bearing member or its supporting structure or supporting panelling within 30cm of any sub-	342	4.5%
Amalgamation of failures for all headlamp testers	316	4.1%
Deliberate modification which significantly reduces the original strength, excessive corrosion, severe distortion, a fracture or an inadequate repair of a load bearing member or its supporting structure or panelling within 30 cms of a seat belt ancho	316	4.1%
An obligatory lamp inoperative or less than 50% of the light sources illuminating	315	4.1%
Any deliberate modification, excessive corrosion, damage, cracks or inadequate repair of a load bearing body or chassis member which seriously affects its strength within 30cm of the body mountings	308	4.0%
The horn inoperative	297	3.9%

Counted across every recorded test, 2005 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.

Where the 1300 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
CT	1	100%

How this record was calculated

LATEST CENSUS2025

POPULATION SOURCEDVLA VEH0220 annual

HISTORY SOURCEDVLA VEH0120 GB · to 2013

MOT SOURCEDVSA results · to 2025

FAMILY DEFINITIONVOLKSWAGEN 1300

PROCESSED20 Sep 2026

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.