Makes / Volkswagen / Beetle
Beetle
Volkswagen · on record 1994 to 2025
The Volkswagen Beetle is Volkswagen's most famous historic model name, covering the original rear engined air cooled people's car and a much later front engined retro styled hatchback built on Golf era architecture. It appealed to buyers who wanted the particular mix of space, image and engineering represented by the Beetle rather than a generic transport choice. The Beetle now survives mainly through enthusiast ownership, so preservation reflects restoration effort and specialist support rather than the replacement cycle that removed most ordinary examples.
DECLINING
Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.
43,714
licensed vehicles
2025 census
2025 census
55.8% of the peak fleet remains licensed
17,707
declared SORN
total surviving
peak 78,307 in 2015 · −3,798 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
At the average decline recorded over the latest five years, the licensed fleet would reach zero around 2036.
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 | 39,551 | 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 | 31,628 | 2.1% |
| A stop lamp inoperative or less than 50% of the light sources illuminating | 27,499 | 1.8% |
| The windscreen washers do not provide enough liquid to clear the windscreen in conjunction with the wiper(s) | 22,033 | 1.5% |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 19,212 | 1.3% |
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 19,068 | 1.3% |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 19,021 | 1.3% |
| During the 2nd fast idle test the carbon monoxide (co) exceeds the vehicle specific or default limits continuously for the last 5 seconds of the 30 second countdown: | 18,559 | 1.2% |
Counted across every recorded test, 2005 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.
Where the Beetle 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 |
|---|---|---|
| B | 1,185 | 78% |
| NG | 936 | 71% |
| PE | 875 | 72% |
| PO | 873 | 69% |
| LE | 865 | 73% |
| S | 845 | 75% |
| NR | 809 | 72% |
| G | 803 | 70% |
| TN | 802 | 72% |
| CF | 795 | 69% |
| BN | 781 | 69% |
| BS | 774 | 70% |
| SA | 736 | 70% |
| NE | 727 | 72% |
| CV | 724 | 75% |
| GU | 717 | 72% |
| EX | 697 | 64% |
| BH | 683 | 70% |
| NN | 678 | 71% |
| DE | 662 | 75% |
| CM | 653 | 76% |
| ST | 648 | 67% |
| RG | 643 | 75% |
| OX | 634 | 70% |
| PL | 616 | 66% |
| RH | 607 | 71% |
| SO | 592 | 70% |
| IP | 587 | 72% |
| SS | 577 | 78% |
| GL | 573 | 71% |
| CH | 569 | 72% |
| DN | 561 | 71% |
| CT | 551 | 71% |
| EH | 543 | 69% |
| ME | 530 | 72% |
| LL | 513 | 71% |
| M | 512 | 75% |
| SK | 484 | 71% |
| WA | 467 | 73% |
| TS | 457 | 73% |
| CO | 457 | 72% |
| HP | 455 | 76% |
| TR | 454 | 61% |
| MK | 450 | 73% |
| WS | 447 | 73% |
| PR | 438 | 73% |
| LS | 436 | 70% |
| YO | 433 | 72% |
| BA | 431 | 67% |
| KT | 422 | 79% |
| NP | 402 | 67% |
| WF | 397 | 70% |
| CB | 388 | 73% |
| SN | 368 | 69% |
| SE | 368 | 82% |
| SG | 365 | 75% |
| TW | 351 | 79% |
| TA | 349 | 69% |
| CW | 337 | 73% |
| DY | 336 | 79% |
| BB | 334 | 73% |
| SY | 333 | 69% |
| SL | 323 | 80% |
| L | 318 | 77% |
| WR | 318 | 72% |
| AB | 316 | 66% |
| WV | 304 | 74% |
| HU | 301 | 69% |
| DA | 290 | 83% |
| N | 289 | 76% |
| LN | 281 | 67% |
| DL | 280 | 68% |
| DT | 276 | 70% |
| BL | 273 | 71% |
| BD | 270 | 71% |
| TQ | 268 | 71% |
| EN | 266 | 79% |
| KA | 262 | 68% |
| KY | 258 | 62% |
| CR | 257 | 81% |
| RM | 256 | 81% |
| SP | 253 | 67% |
| FY | 251 | 67% |
| OL | 235 | 74% |
| AL | 229 | 76% |
| NW | 229 | 78% |
| E | 224 | 79% |
| PA | 224 | 66% |
| SW | 221 | 76% |
| LA | 220 | 69% |
| FK | 210 | 70% |
| DH | 205 | 68% |
| ML | 196 | 68% |
| TF | 194 | 70% |
| WD | 192 | 74% |
| WN | 192 | 69% |
| CA | 184 | 73% |
| HR | 181 | 66% |
| HA | 180 | 76% |
| LU | 180 | 80% |
| IV | 179 | 63% |
| UB | 178 | 84% |
| DD | 176 | 66% |
| SR | 168 | 70% |
| BR | 165 | 74% |
| W | 162 | 82% |
| HG | 147 | 73% |
| IG | 141 | 79% |
| HD | 132 | 73% |
| PH | 110 | 68% |
| DG | 105 | 79% |
| SM | 102 | 76% |
| HX | 94 | 74% |
| TD | 81 | 72% |
| LD | 53 | 64% |
| KW | 31 | 65% |
| HS | 13 | 77% |
| ZE | 6 | 50% |
| XX | 3 | 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 BEETLE
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.