How many JCB 538 cars are left?
At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 1,939 licensed and 24 SORN vehicles in the UK within the JCB 538 generic-model group.
Looking at a 538?
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 538 is off the road? A free SORN check shows whether it is currently SORN, taxed or untaxed.
Is the 538 disappearing?
1,939 are licensed as of 2026 Q1 — the highest count in the published series, so the 538 is still arriving on UK roads rather than leaving them. That is up 321% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 24 are declared SORN — 1 in 82 of the 1,963 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
| Quarter | Licensed | SORN |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 | 1,939 | 24 |
| 2025 Q4 | 1,869 | 22 |
| 2025 Q3 | 1,832 | 19 |
| 2025 Q2 | 1,780 | 15 |
| 2025 Q1 | 1,693 | 13 |
| 2024 Q4 | 1,622 | 10 |
| 2024 Q3 | 1,537 | 8 |
| 2024 Q2 | 1,469 | 8 |
| 2024 Q1 | 1,388 | 10 |
| 2023 Q4 | 1,328 | 8 |
| 2023 Q3 | 1,258 | 5 |
| 2023 Q2 | 1,197 | 3 |
Other JCB models
- 540 — 6,880 licensed
- 535 — 3,283 licensed
- 531 — 2,003 licensed
- 3CX — 2,418 licensed
- 525 — 1,820 licensed
- Tm320 — 2,380 licensed
See how many of every JCB 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.