UK vehicle statistics / Daihatsu

How many Daihatsu cars are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 12,693 licensed and 16,035 SORN Daihatsu vehicles in the UK, across 14 published model groups. That means 1 in 2 surviving Daihatsu is currently off the road.

Is the Daihatsu fleet shrinking?

Adding up every published Daihatsu model group: Licensed numbers peaked at 51,433 in 2014 Q3 and stand at 12,693 in 2026 Q1, down 75%. That is down 45% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 16,035 are declared SORN — 1 in 2 of the 28,728 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.

Daihatsu MOT pass rate

In 2024, 60.9% of 11,871 Daihatsu MOTs passed first time — below the 71.2% UK average.

The items most often behind a first-test failure across published Daihatsu model groups:

• Suspension Arms — 8.8% of tests. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
• Exhaust Emissions — 5.9% of tests. The car exceeded its emissions limits. Can be a sensor or a service, but on a diesel it can also mean an expensive filter or catalyst.
• Brake Performance — 5.1% of tests. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.
• Component Mounting Prescribed Areas — 4.3% of tests. Corrosion near a mounting point for a tested component. This is the kind of rust that gets expensive — inspect it.

See every model on the Daihatsu MOT pass rate page.

Before you buy

• Suspension Arms — 8.8% of tests in 2024. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
• Exhaust Emissions — 5.9% of tests in 2024. The car exceeded its emissions limits. Can be a sensor or a service, but on a diesel it can also mean an expensive filter or catalyst.
• Brake Performance — 5.1% of tests in 2024. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.
• Component Mounting Prescribed Areas — 4.3% of tests in 2024. Corrosion near a mounting point for a tested component. This is the kind of rust that gets expensive — inspect it.
• Ask why it was off the road — Of the 28,728 Daihatsu vehicles still on the DVLA record, 1 in 2 is SORN (16,035 at 2026 Q1). A car that has been laid up needs a closer look at brakes, tyres and the MOT history.
• Budget for a shrinking fleet — Licensed numbers are down 75% from the 2014 Q3 peak of 51,433. Fewer cars on the road usually means fewer donor parts and fewer specialists.
• Check the actual Daihatsu — These figures describe the model group. Enter the registration for that vehicle's free MOT, tax and mileage record before you pay a deposit.

Rarest Daihatsu models

The published Daihatsu model groups with the smallest surviving populations.

• F50 — 26 licensed, 100 SORN
• Grand Move — 14 licensed, 116 SORN
• Move — 30 licensed, 105 SORN
• YRV — 75 licensed, 219 SORN
• Extol — 212 licensed, 188 SORN

Every Daihatsu model

How to read these numbers

Licensed means taxed and legal to use on the road at the end of the quarter. SORN means the keeper has declared it off the road — it still exists, but it is not in use. A model group's total is the best available proxy for how many survive, and a shrinking one means fewer donor cars, fewer specialists and slower parts supply.

Common questions

How many Daihatsu cars are left in the UK?

12,693 Daihatsu vehicles were licensed and 16,035 were SORN at the end of 2026 Q1, across 14 published model groups, according to DfT and DVLA statistics.

Which Daihatsu is rarest?

Of the published Daihatsu model groups, the F50 has the smallest surviving population at 26 licensed and 100 SORN.

Is the Daihatsu fleet shrinking?

Licensed numbers peaked at 51,433 in 2014 Q3 and stand at 12,693 in 2026 Q1, down 75%. That is down 45% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 16,035 are declared SORN — 1 in 2 of the 28,728 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.

What is the Daihatsu MOT pass rate?

60.9% of 11,871 class-4 initial MOT tests on Daihatsu cars passed first time in 2024 — below the 71.2% UK average.

What do Daihatsu cars fail the MOT on?

Across published Daihatsu model groups, the most common initial failure categories in 2024 are suspension arms (8.8% of tests), exhaust emissions (5.9% of tests), brake performance (5.1% of tests). DVSA publishes each model group's six most common categories, so this ranks the biggest published causes.

Does a Daihatsu population figure describe the car I am looking at?

No. It describes the model group. Enter the registration for that car's own free MOT, tax and mileage record.

Source and limitations

Source: Department for Transport and DVLA, df_VEH0120_UK. Released 2026-07-15 under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

DVLA make and model fields are administrative data and can contain omissions or inconsistencies. These statistics describe model groups, not an individual registration.

Confidential cells marked [c] represent between 1 and 4 vehicles and are treated as zero in aggregates, so totals can be slightly understated.