Car ownership in London has fallen dramatically despite an increase across the rest of the UK.
That was the surprise outcome of a study into the nation’s car ownership by Kwik Fit.
The number of licensed cars per thousand people in the capital fell to 309.1, a drop of five per cent compared to 2011. Despite this, London’s rapid population growth has seen the number of cars on its streets grow by 100,000 in the same period, suggesting that most newcomers to the capital are not car owners. The only other region to experience a decline in car ownership was the West Midlands, which experienced single per cent fall.
Overall, the number of cars per thousand head of population has risen by 2 per cent across the UK since 2011, rising from 471 to 482, equating to just under one car for every two people. The South East, with 561 cars per thousand people, has the highest proportion of car ownership, quickly followed by the South West at 558 per thousand, while the East of England has experienced the most spectacular growth in car ownership with a 7 per cent rise from 504.9 to 541.8 cars per thousand people.
Kwik Fit’s Roger Griggs said, “The new car industry has seen a strong period of growth over recent years, but our analysis shows that there have been some clear differences in the regional trends. Over the last five years the increase in the number of cars licenced in eastern England has been three times that for London.
Although London has seen the greatest fall in the number of cars per thousand people, it’s also notable that the West Midlands, for many years the traditional heart of the British motoring industry, also saw a drop in the number of cars per thousand people over the last five years. However, the region can take heart from the fact that its figure is still well above the national average.”
Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter
Popular news stories
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
|
|
||||||
