UK vehicle statistics / Volkswagen
How many Volkswagen California cars are left?
At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 15,530 licensed and 371 SORN vehicles in the UK within the Volkswagen California generic-model group.
Looking at a California?
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 California is off the road? A free SORN check shows whether it is currently SORN, taxed or untaxed.
Is the California disappearing?
15,530 are licensed as of 2026 Q1 — the highest count in the published series, so the California is still arriving on UK roads rather than leaving them. That is up 76% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 371 are declared SORN — 1 in 43 of the 15,901 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.
For how this model fares on test day, see its MOT pass rate and most common failures.
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 | 15,530 | 371 |
| 2025 Q4 | 15,177 | 389 |
| 2025 Q3 | 15,085 | 197 |
| 2025 Q2 | 14,734 | 164 |
| 2025 Q1 | 14,221 | 364 |
| 2024 Q4 | 14,036 | 417 |
| 2024 Q3 | 13,956 | 194 |
| 2024 Q2 | 13,419 | 139 |
| 2024 Q1 | 12,834 | 204 |
| 2023 Q4 | 12,414 | 288 |
| 2023 Q3 | 12,312 | 128 |
| 2023 Q2 | 11,975 | 94 |
Other Volkswagen models
- Golf — 953,731 licensed
- Polo — 684,732 licensed
- Transporter — 352,853 licensed
- Tiguan — 353,309 licensed
- Passat — 175,154 licensed
- Caddy — 163,434 licensed
See how many of every Volkswagen 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.