UK vehicle statistics / Lotus

How many Lotus cars are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 14,330 licensed and 9,899 SORN Lotus vehicles in the UK, across 12 published model groups. That means 1 in 2 surviving Lotus is currently off the road.

Looking at a Lotus?

Population figures describe a model group, not the car in front of you.

Check its registration free for the official tax, MOT and mileage record. Before buying, the optional £9.99 full history check adds outstanding-finance, stolen and insurance write-off checks.

Rarest Lotus models

The published Lotus model groups with the smallest surviving populations.

  • Seven — 236 licensed, 108 SORN
  • Emeya — 389 licensed, 20 SORN
  • Elite — 304 licensed, 254 SORN
  • Europa — 385 licensed, 271 SORN
  • Evora — 632 licensed, 271 SORN

Every Lotus model

ModelLicensedSORN
Elise3,5563,880
Elan2,5042,111
Eletre2,61026
Esprit7621,287
Emira1,643144
Exige974749
Eclat335778
Evora632271
Europa385271
Elite304254
Emeya38920
Seven236108

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.

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.