UK vehicle statistics / Land Rover

How many Land Rover Defender cars are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 163,722 licensed and 31,781 SORN vehicles in the UK within the Land Rover Defender generic-model group.

Looking at a Defender?

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 Defender is off the road? A free SORN check shows whether it is currently SORN, taxed or untaxed.

Is the Defender disappearing?

163,722 are licensed as of 2026 Q1 — the highest count in the published series, so the Defender is still arriving on UK roads rather than leaving them. That is up 56% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 31,781 are declared SORN — 1 in 6 of the 195,503 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.

Defender MOT pass rate

In 2024, 67.8% of 72,437 Land Rover Defender MOTs passed first time — below the 71.2% UK average. Pass rate moves with age: 80.4% of cars aged 6–9 years passed first time, against 64.6% aged 15–30 years.

  • Steering Linkage Components — 7.1% of tests. Worn track rod ends or joints. Affects steering and tyre wear, and is a normal age-related repair.
  • Headlamp Aim — 4.9% of tests. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
  • Position Lamps — 4.4% of tests. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
  • Stop Lamp — 4.3% of tests. A brake light out. Usually a bulb.

Full age bands and failure notes are on the Land Rover Defender MOT pass rate page.

Before you buy

  • Steering Linkage Components — 7.1% of tests in 2024. Worn track rod ends or joints. Affects steering and tyre wear, and is a normal age-related repair.
  • Headlamp Aim — 4.9% of tests in 2024. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
  • Position Lamps — 4.4% of tests in 2024. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
  • Stop Lamp — 4.3% of tests in 2024. A brake light out. Usually a bulb.
  • Check the actual Defender — These figures describe the model group. Enter the registration for that vehicle's free MOT, tax and mileage record before you pay a deposit.

Quarterly licensed and SORN counts

Every quarter DfT has published for this model group, newest first.

QuarterLicensedSORN
2026 Q1163,72231,781
2025 Q4158,48330,818
2025 Q3155,07030,163
2025 Q2152,08729,815
2025 Q1147,60929,763
2024 Q4143,16928,612
2024 Q3140,70327,675
2024 Q2137,40327,141
2024 Q1134,30026,998
2023 Q4129,49326,424
2023 Q3126,95325,310
2023 Q2124,58724,710
2023 Q1120,78324,470
2022 Q4116,92524,390
2022 Q3113,93123,316
2022 Q2112,68922,713
2022 Q1111,39322,659
2021 Q4110,03722,125
2021 Q3109,73021,187
2021 Q2107,91621,065
2021 Q1104,77021,168
2020 Q4103,49020,735
2020 Q3102,45720,172
2020 Q299,93020,435
2020 Q1100,19220,332
2019 Q4101,78618,887
2019 Q3102,46918,201
2019 Q2103,26217,430
2019 Q1103,90117,086
2018 Q4104,96316,724
2018 Q3105,58715,926
2018 Q2106,31015,396
2018 Q1107,23015,024
2017 Q4107,94514,773
2017 Q3108,85514,022
2017 Q2109,47913,632
2017 Q1110,22812,904
2016 Q4111,21212,330
2016 Q3111,52411,600
2016 Q2111,68511,280
2016 Q1112,19510,875
2015 Q4111,33310,118
2015 Q3110,1209,616
2015 Q2108,7559,255
2015 Q1107,6358,779
2014 Q4106,1578,150
2014 Q3105,8667,699

Other Land Rover models

See how many of every Land Rover model are left

Common questions

How many Land Rover Defender cars are left in the UK?

163,722 were licensed and 31,781 were SORN at the end of 2026 Q1, according to DfT and DVLA statistics for this generic-model group.

How many Land Rover Defender cars are SORN?

31,781 are declared SORN — 1 in 6 of the 195,503 still on the DVLA record at the end of 2026 Q1.

Is the Defender disappearing?

163,722 are licensed as of 2026 Q1 — the highest count in the published series, so the Defender is still arriving on UK roads rather than leaving them. That is up 56% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 31,781 are declared SORN — 1 in 6 of the 195,503 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.

What is the Land Rover Defender MOT pass rate?

In 2024, 67.8% of 72,437 Land Rover Defender MOTs passed first time — below the 71.2% UK average.

What does the Defender fail its MOT on?

The most common initial failure categories in 2024 are steering linkage components (7.1% of tests), headlamp aim (4.9% of tests), position lamps (4.4% of tests).

Does this say whether one Defender is a good buy?

No. These are population figures for the model group. Enter that vehicle's registration for its 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.