Makes / Volkswagen / California
California
Volkswagen · on record 2010 to 2025
Volkswagen California belongs to the marque's van based people carrier or camper population rather than its conventional passenger cars. This model belongs to Volkswagen's long passenger and leisure vehicle tradition based on Transporter type vans, with multi row seating or camper equipment rather than a conventional car body. Later life for the California depends strongly on whether its working or specialist role still justifies maintenance once normal fleet replacement would have removed an equivalent vehicle.
GROWING
Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.
15,177
licensed vehicles
2025 census
2025 census
100.0% of the peak fleet remains licensed
389
declared SORN
total surviving
peak 15,177 in 2025 · +1,418 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
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened | 1,874 | 2.6% |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 1,614 | 2.2% |
| A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 1,303 | 1.8% |
| A tyre cords visible or damaged | 1,028 | 1.4% |
| A tyre seriously damaged | 887 | 1.2% |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 686 | 0.9% |
| A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 603 | 0.8% |
| Warning device shows system malfunction | 579 | 0.8% |
Counted across every recorded test, 2005 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.
Where the California 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BS | 346 | 80% |
| EX | 236 | 86% |
| BH | 233 | 89% |
| SO | 215 | 90% |
| PO | 210 | 86% |
| BN | 203 | 79% |
| EH | 191 | 77% |
| TN | 187 | 86% |
| GU | 186 | 82% |
| RH | 172 | 91% |
| GL | 166 | 83% |
| RG | 160 | 83% |
| NE | 150 | 82% |
| AB | 149 | 75% |
| LA | 143 | 85% |
| CF | 140 | 80% |
| S | 131 | 89% |
| B | 128 | 84% |
| OX | 124 | 85% |
| CV | 123 | 85% |
| CA | 120 | 82% |
| TR | 118 | 80% |
| BA | 117 | 77% |
| DE | 115 | 87% |
| NR | 113 | 86% |
| LE | 113 | 81% |
| YO | 113 | 82% |
| PL | 112 | 87% |
| NG | 112 | 80% |
| NN | 110 | 86% |
| PR | 110 | 90% |
| SA | 107 | 80% |
| SN | 104 | 86% |
| LS | 103 | 81% |
| HP | 102 | 81% |
| PE | 100 | 82% |
| WR | 98 | 89% |
| M | 95 | 79% |
| TA | 92 | 88% |
| G | 91 | 77% |
| IP | 91 | 85% |
| HR | 90 | 87% |
| LL | 90 | 89% |
| L | 85 | 85% |
| IV | 83 | 86% |
| DT | 79 | 85% |
| CT | 77 | 83% |
| BD | 75 | 84% |
| TQ | 71 | 87% |
| CH | 70 | 87% |
| AL | 70 | 83% |
| ST | 68 | 79% |
| SP | 68 | 82% |
| SK | 66 | 80% |
| WS | 65 | 88% |
| KT | 61 | 85% |
| CB | 60 | 90% |
| WA | 59 | 83% |
| CR | 59 | 92% |
| SY | 58 | 79% |
| SG | 56 | 86% |
| MK | 54 | 93% |
| PH | 53 | 74% |
| CM | 52 | 94% |
| N | 48 | 85% |
| DL | 48 | 83% |
| LN | 48 | 79% |
| NW | 47 | 83% |
| DN | 47 | 85% |
| ME | 45 | 87% |
| TW | 45 | 84% |
| SE | 44 | 89% |
| CW | 43 | 81% |
| HU | 39 | 79% |
| HG | 39 | 74% |
| NP | 38 | 82% |
| KA | 37 | 73% |
| BB | 37 | 86% |
| CO | 36 | 83% |
| DD | 36 | 75% |
| TS | 36 | 89% |
| SS | 35 | 91% |
| BL | 31 | 77% |
| HD | 31 | 77% |
| FK | 30 | 77% |
| KY | 30 | 77% |
| TF | 29 | 83% |
| WF | 29 | 93% |
| SL | 28 | 93% |
| DY | 27 | 89% |
| SW | 26 | 81% |
| WV | 25 | 84% |
| OL | 25 | 80% |
| FY | 22 | 86% |
| HX | 21 | 81% |
| PA | 20 | 90% |
| DH | 19 | 84% |
| IG | 19 | 79% |
| DG | 18 | 89% |
| LU | 18 | 89% |
| DA | 18 | 94% |
| TD | 17 | 71% |
| WD | 17 | 88% |
| BR | 16 | 75% |
| W | 16 | 69% |
| E | 15 | 100% |
| KW | 13 | 69% |
| ML | 12 | 83% |
| SR | 12 | 75% |
| EN | 12 | 100% |
| LD | 10 | 70% |
| HA | 9 | 78% |
| UB | 8 | 88% |
| RM | 8 | 75% |
| SM | 8 | 100% |
| WN | 7 | 100% |
| HS | 4 | 75% |
| XX | 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 CALIFORNIA
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.