Makes / Volkswagen / Golf
Golf
Volkswagen · on record 1994 to 2025
DECLINING
Red List classification, from population, five year trajectory and survival against peak. Reviewed each census.
959,644
licensed vehicles
2025 census
2025 census
90.0% of the peak fleet remains licensed
134,841
declared SORN
total surviving
peak 1,066,514 in 2018 · −17,767 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 2079.
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 | 606,391 | 3.1% |
| 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 | 290,853 | 1.5% |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 267,979 | 1.4% |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 262,622 | 1.3% |
| A stop lamp inoperative or less than 50% of the light sources illuminating | 251,637 | 1.3% |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 237,014 | 1.2% |
| A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened | 212,309 | 1.1% |
| A brake lining or pad insecure or less than 1.5mm thick at any point | 206,005 | 1.0% |
Counted across every recorded test, 2005 to 2025. Advisories are excluded.
Where the Golf 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 | 25,780 | 86% |
| S | 17,167 | 85% |
| LE | 16,661 | 83% |
| BS | 15,743 | 76% |
| GU | 15,482 | 80% |
| PE | 15,235 | 81% |
| RG | 14,873 | 82% |
| BD | 14,101 | 84% |
| NG | 13,861 | 80% |
| OX | 13,713 | 80% |
| GL | 13,639 | 77% |
| M | 13,150 | 82% |
| NE | 12,988 | 83% |
| NR | 12,923 | 79% |
| CF | 12,694 | 78% |
| PO | 12,538 | 77% |
| TN | 12,267 | 81% |
| CV | 12,165 | 83% |
| NN | 11,816 | 80% |
| EX | 11,723 | 74% |
| G | 11,452 | 81% |
| SO | 11,390 | 79% |
| IP | 11,352 | 80% |
| DE | 11,306 | 82% |
| BN | 11,087 | 77% |
| LS | 10,882 | 80% |
| EH | 10,426 | 79% |
| RH | 10,099 | 81% |
| HP | 9,974 | 83% |
| PL | 9,863 | 76% |
| SA | 9,462 | 79% |
| BA | 9,404 | 77% |
| LL | 9,373 | 80% |
| BB | 8,880 | 84% |
| BH | 8,875 | 77% |
| DN | 8,643 | 81% |
| MK | 8,484 | 82% |
| SN | 8,445 | 78% |
| CM | 8,142 | 83% |
| SK | 7,773 | 81% |
| ST | 7,761 | 79% |
| KT | 7,736 | 84% |
| WF | 7,733 | 81% |
| CB | 7,416 | 80% |
| CH | 7,397 | 80% |
| SL | 7,374 | 86% |
| YO | 7,364 | 79% |
| ME | 7,292 | 83% |
| N | 7,251 | 86% |
| NP | 7,184 | 78% |
| AB | 7,151 | 79% |
| E | 7,068 | 87% |
| TW | 6,678 | 85% |
| TR | 6,668 | 75% |
| TA | 6,560 | 77% |
| PR | 6,520 | 81% |
| CT | 6,475 | 79% |
| SE | 6,450 | 85% |
| TS | 6,377 | 82% |
| WA | 6,307 | 81% |
| SG | 6,226 | 82% |
| CO | 6,204 | 80% |
| SY | 6,186 | 79% |
| SP | 6,124 | 77% |
| OL | 6,055 | 81% |
| SW | 5,989 | 84% |
| LU | 5,950 | 86% |
| NW | 5,825 | 85% |
| WR | 5,783 | 79% |
| L | 5,664 | 83% |
| BL | 5,519 | 83% |
| UB | 5,163 | 87% |
| HA | 5,108 | 86% |
| TQ | 5,088 | 76% |
| CR | 5,016 | 86% |
| DL | 4,958 | 81% |
| LA | 4,874 | 80% |
| WS | 4,743 | 82% |
| CA | 4,739 | 82% |
| KY | 4,662 | 75% |
| WV | 4,654 | 82% |
| DT | 4,542 | 76% |
| DY | 4,495 | 83% |
| CW | 4,415 | 81% |
| EN | 4,273 | 86% |
| RM | 4,216 | 88% |
| AL | 4,105 | 83% |
| DA | 4,006 | 86% |
| IV | 3,993 | 81% |
| HR | 3,978 | 81% |
| DH | 3,917 | 83% |
| LN | 3,906 | 78% |
| SS | 3,867 | 84% |
| HU | 3,817 | 78% |
| HD | 3,736 | 79% |
| IG | 3,243 | 88% |
| KA | 3,224 | 79% |
| DD | 3,221 | 77% |
| PA | 3,160 | 78% |
| WD | 3,102 | 80% |
| TF | 2,984 | 80% |
| W | 2,975 | 82% |
| ML | 2,911 | 78% |
| FK | 2,741 | 79% |
| WN | 2,642 | 81% |
| BR | 2,629 | 85% |
| HG | 2,595 | 80% |
| SR | 2,364 | 80% |
| HX | 2,340 | 84% |
| FY | 2,324 | 77% |
| PH | 2,311 | 79% |
| DG | 1,823 | 82% |
| SM | 1,744 | 86% |
| TD | 1,657 | 81% |
| LD | 817 | 79% |
| KW | 718 | 81% |
| ZE | 339 | 78% |
| HS | 308 | 77% |
| XX | 102 | 90% |
How this record was calculated
LATEST CENSUS2025
POPULATION SOURCEDVLA VEH0220 quarterly
HISTORY SOURCEDVLA VEH0120 GB · to 2013
MOT SOURCEDVSA results · to 2025
FAMILY DEFINITIONVOLKSWAGEN GOLF
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.