UK vehicle statistics / Volvo
How many Volvo cars are left?
At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 768,449 licensed and 65,146 SORN Volvo vehicles in the UK, across 45 published model groups. That means 1 in 13 surviving Volvo is currently off the road.
Looking at a Volvo?
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 Volvo fleet shrinking?
Adding up every published Volvo model group: 768,449 are licensed as of 2026 Q1 — the highest count in the published series, so the Volvo range is still arriving on UK roads rather than leaving them. That is up 24% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 65,146 are declared SORN — 1 in 13 of the 833,595 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.
Volvo MOT pass rate
In 2024, 72.9% of 464,348 Volvo MOTs passed first time — above the 71.2% UK average.
The items most often behind a first-test failure across published Volvo model groups:
- Condition — 4.8% of tests. Corrosion, damage or wear on a tested component. Worth seeing in person, as the cost ranges from trivial to structural.
- Headlamp Aim — 2.9% of tests. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
- Brake Performance — 2.6% of tests. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.
- Position Lamps — 2.4% of tests. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
See every model on the Volvo MOT pass rate page.
Before you buy
- Condition — 4.8% of tests in 2024. Corrosion, damage or wear on a tested component. Worth seeing in person, as the cost ranges from trivial to structural.
- Headlamp Aim — 2.9% of tests in 2024. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
- Brake Performance — 2.6% of tests in 2024. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.
- Position Lamps — 2.4% of tests in 2024. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
- Check the actual Volvo — 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 Volvo models
The published Volvo model groups with the smallest surviving populations.
- 164 — 48 licensed, 54 SORN
- Es90 — 142 licensed, 0 SORN
- L Series — 130 licensed, 19 SORN
- FM Series — 164 licensed, 2 SORN
- 131 — 102 licensed, 79 SORN
Every Volvo model
| Model | Licensed | SORN |
|---|---|---|
| Xc40 | 178,819 | 1,129 |
| Xc60 | 154,061 | 2,620 |
| Xc90 | 94,388 | 6,957 |
| V40 | 94,070 | 4,650 |
| V70 | 34,181 | 9,948 |
| V60 | 43,006 | 920 |
| V50 | 22,944 | 3,932 |
| S60 | 18,498 | 4,560 |
| Ex30 | 21,706 | 348 |
| C30 | 18,793 | 2,196 |
| S40 | 13,268 | 5,591 |
| V90 | 17,948 | 283 |
| Xc70 | 15,143 | 1,595 |
| C70 | 5,535 | 3,113 |
| S80 | 5,635 | 2,548 |
| S90 | 7,476 | 218 |
| C40 | 6,941 | 132 |
| Ex40 | 5,643 | 19 |
| 940 | 2,026 | 2,788 |
| 850 | 1,269 | 2,380 |
| 240 | 1,031 | 2,061 |
| 740 | 593 | 1,836 |
| Ex90 Plus AWD | 1,128 | 14 |
| 960 | 362 | 706 |
| 340 | 138 | 792 |
| 440 | 88 | 743 |
| S70 | 320 | 505 |
| 480 | 121 | 623 |
| BE | 743 | 0 |
| Ec40 | 715 | 16 |
| 760 | 102 | 407 |
| 1800 | 300 | 197 |
| 244 | 134 | 187 |
| 122 | 198 | 110 |
| 360 | 49 | 254 |
| 460 | 30 | 209 |
| 245 | 79 | 150 |
| 121 | 135 | 91 |
| P1800 | 146 | 62 |
| 144 | 101 | 102 |
| 131 | 102 | 79 |
| FM Series | 164 | 2 |
| L Series | 130 | 19 |
| Es90 | 142 | 0 |
| 164 | 48 | 54 |
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 Volvo cars are left in the UK?
768,449 Volvo vehicles were licensed and 65,146 were SORN at the end of 2026 Q1, across 45 published model groups, according to DfT and DVLA statistics.
Which Volvo is rarest?
Of the published Volvo model groups, the 164 has the smallest surviving population at 48 licensed and 54 SORN.
Is the Volvo fleet shrinking?
768,449 are licensed as of 2026 Q1 — the highest count in the published series, so the Volvo range is still arriving on UK roads rather than leaving them. That is up 24% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 65,146 are declared SORN — 1 in 13 of the 833,595 still on the DVLA record is off the road, laid up, part-restored or waiting to be sold.
What is the Volvo MOT pass rate?
72.9% of 464,348 class-4 initial MOT tests on Volvo cars passed first time in 2024 — above the 71.2% UK average.
What do Volvo cars fail the MOT on?
Across published Volvo model groups, the most common initial failure categories in 2024 are condition (4.8% of tests), headlamp aim (2.9% of tests), brake performance (2.6% of tests). DVSA publishes each model group's six most common categories, so this ranks the biggest published causes.
Does a Volvo 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.