Age of average British car pushed to record high | Motoring Issues - Car News Mar 2014

16:45 Thursday 13 Mar 2014

There are now nearly 32 million cars on Britain's roads, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The number of cars in Britain jumped by 436,000 during 2013 -- the largest rise in a decade -- thanks to both an increase in the number of new cars sold, and the increasing reliability of older cars, which means they stay on the road longer.

Figures from the SMMT also show that the average age of a car on the road is now 7.7 years -- more than a year older than the average vehicle ten years ago. The number of cars on the road older than 12 years also rose by 11.3 per cent.

"With more cars bought and less scrapped in recent years, the total number on UK roads reached an all-time high last year," said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. "Additionally, spreading the cost of regular maintenance through service packages makes car ownership more affordable, so it is not surprising that people are running cars for longer."

The most common car on British roads is the Ford Focus, with 1,462,735 examples currently in use. The Ford Fiesta comes second with 1,423,245, with the Vauxhall Corsa and Astra in third and fourth place with 1,246,650 and 1,188,385 examples, respectively.

Fifth is the VW Golf, with 998,645 models on the road, followed by the Renault Clio, VW Polo, Ford Mondeo, Peugeot 206 and Renault Megane.

The study also found that despite the current trend for white cars, nearly a quarter of Britain's motors are painted silver. Blue cars are the second most popular, making up just over 20 per cent of those on the road, while 18 per cent of all cars are black and 10 per cent red. Grey cars are the fifth most popular, again with a share of around 10 per cent.

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