UK vehicle statistics / Indian

How many Indian Chieftain motorcycles are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 161 licensed and 53 SORN vehicles in the UK within the Indian Chieftain generic-model group.

Looking at a Chieftain?

Population figures cannot tell you whether one particular car is taxed, MOT-valid or safe to buy.

Check its registration free for the official tax, MOT and mileage record. If the car is still worth pursuing, the optional £9.99 full history check adds outstanding-finance, stolen and insurance write-off checks.

Wondering whether one particular Chieftain is off the road? A free SORN check shows whether it is currently SORN, taxed or untaxed.

Is the Chieftain disappearing?

Licensed numbers peaked at 187 in 2025 Q2 and stand at 161 in 2026 Q1, down 14%. That is up 32% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 53 are declared SORN — 1 in 4 of the 214 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.

A falling population is worth knowing before you buy: it usually means fewer donor cars, fewer specialists and slower parts supply, and it is why a good example of a scarce model can hold its price while a neglected one is hard to sell at any price.

Recent quarterly trend

QuarterLicensedSORN
2026 Q116153
2025 Q415562
2025 Q318531
2025 Q218723
2025 Q116244
2024 Q415349
2024 Q316929
2024 Q217326
2024 Q115525
2023 Q414335
2023 Q316915
2023 Q216614

Other Indian models

See how many of every Indian model are left

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.