UK vehicle statistics / Mercedes
How many Mercedes cars are left?
At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 2,126,567 licensed and 293,062 SORN Mercedes vehicles in the UK, across 57 published model groups. That means 1 in 8 surviving Mercedes is currently off the road.
Looking at a Mercedes?
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.
Is the Mercedes fleet shrinking?
Adding up every published Mercedes model group: Licensed numbers peaked at 2,144,904 in 2025 Q2 and stand at 2,126,567 in 2026 Q1, down 1%. That is up 6% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 293,062 are declared SORN — 1 in 8 of the 2,419,629 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.
Mercedes MOT pass rate
In 2024, 76.3% of 1,461,609 Mercedes MOTs passed first time — above the 71.2% UK average.
The items most often behind a first-test failure across published Mercedes model groups:
- Condition — 4.6% of tests. Corrosion, damage or wear on a tested component. Worth seeing in person, as the cost ranges from trivial to structural.
- Exhaust Emissions — 2.6% 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.
- Suspension Arms — 2.6% of tests. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
- Brake Performance — 2.2% of tests. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.
See every model on the Mercedes MOT pass rate page.
Before you buy
- Condition — 4.6% of tests in 2024. Corrosion, damage or wear on a tested component. Worth seeing in person, as the cost ranges from trivial to structural.
- Exhaust Emissions — 2.6% 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.
- Suspension Arms — 2.6% of tests in 2024. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
- Brake Performance — 2.2% of tests in 2024. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.
- Check the actual Mercedes — 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 Mercedes models
The published Mercedes model groups with the smallest surviving populations.
- CLE 450 AMG — 119 licensed, 1 SORN
- CLE 200 Premier — 138 licensed, 1 SORN
- Unimog — 137 licensed, 6 SORN
- Auto Sleepers — 137 licensed, 7 SORN
- Coleman Milne — 158 licensed, 0 SORN
Every Mercedes model
| Model | Licensed | SORN |
|---|---|---|
| A Class | 390,668 | 14,568 |
| C Class | 338,222 | 50,258 |
| Sprinter | 259,076 | 55,379 |
| E Class | 208,613 | 42,991 |
| GLA Class | 114,968 | 1,815 |
| Vito | 100,028 | 16,494 |
| CLA Class | 108,827 | 2,457 |
| GLC Class | 101,342 | 2,376 |
| B Class | 68,153 | 3,261 |
| SLK Class | 46,327 | 13,271 |
| AMG Class | 54,560 | 3,013 |
| GLE Class | 38,454 | 1,575 |
| ML Class | 25,790 | 12,062 |
| EQA Class | 33,751 | 180 |
| S Class | 22,113 | 8,999 |
| CLK Class | 19,037 | 11,838 |
| CLS Class | 20,295 | 4,637 |
| GLB Class | 23,805 | 644 |
| Citan | 21,428 | 1,384 |
| SL Class | 14,102 | 7,787 |
| EQB Class | 20,228 | 96 |
| EQC Class | 18,070 | 336 |
| 300 | 4,612 | 10,059 |
| 200 | 6,230 | 8,364 |
| V Class | 13,069 | 1,315 |
| CLC Class | 8,562 | 1,081 |
| SLC Class | 8,000 | 240 |
| 190 | 2,126 | 5,430 |
| Viano | 4,091 | 1,178 |
| 500 | 1,254 | 2,901 |
| EQE Class | 4,079 | 67 |
| X Class | 3,688 | 241 |
| CL Class | 2,047 | 1,862 |
| GLS Class | 3,516 | 242 |
| GL Class | 2,824 | 812 |
| 400 | 1,026 | 1,790 |
| Tourismo | 2,080 | 36 |
| R Class | 1,409 | 695 |
| EQS Class | 2,006 | 70 |
| G Class | 1,558 | 393 |
| Hymer | 1,175 | 60 |
| CLE 300 AMG | 942 | 6 |
| EQV Class | 842 | 40 |
| CLE 200 AMG | 831 | 8 |
| Vaneo | 232 | 314 |
| Ecitan | 425 | 45 |
| CLE 220 AMG | 410 | 4 |
| SLS Class | 202 | 202 |
| CLE 300 Premier ED Mhev 4M A | 300 | 2 |
| M8 | 254 | 5 |
| 600 | 55 | 159 |
| Adria | 176 | 5 |
| Coleman Milne | 158 | 0 |
| Auto Sleepers | 137 | 7 |
| Unimog | 137 | 6 |
| CLE 200 Premier | 138 | 1 |
| CLE 450 AMG | 119 | 1 |
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 Mercedes cars are left in the UK?
2,126,567 Mercedes vehicles were licensed and 293,062 were SORN at the end of 2026 Q1, across 57 published model groups, according to DfT and DVLA statistics.
Which Mercedes is rarest?
Of the published Mercedes model groups, the CLE 450 AMG has the smallest surviving population at 119 licensed and 1 SORN.
Is the Mercedes fleet shrinking?
Licensed numbers peaked at 2,144,904 in 2025 Q2 and stand at 2,126,567 in 2026 Q1, down 1%. That is up 6% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 293,062 are declared SORN — 1 in 8 of the 2,419,629 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.
What is the Mercedes MOT pass rate?
76.3% of 1,461,609 class-4 initial MOT tests on Mercedes cars passed first time in 2024 — above the 71.2% UK average.
What do Mercedes cars fail the MOT on?
Across published Mercedes model groups, the most common initial failure categories in 2024 are condition (4.6% of tests), exhaust emissions (2.6% of tests), suspension arms (2.6% of tests). DVSA publishes each model group's six most common categories, so this ranks the biggest published causes.
Does a Mercedes 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.