UK vehicle statistics / Wolseley

How many Wolseley 18/85 cars are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 90 licensed and 53 SORN vehicles in the UK within the Wolseley 18/85 generic-model group.

Looking at a 18/85?

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 18/85 is off the road? A free SORN check shows whether it is currently SORN, taxed or untaxed.

Is the 18/85 disappearing?

Licensed numbers peaked at 96 in 2022 Q1 and stand at 90 in 2026 Q1, down 6%. That is down 3% in the five years since 2021 Q1. A further 53 are declared SORN — 1 in 3 of the 143 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.

Recent quarterly trend

QuarterLicensedSORN
2026 Q19053
2025 Q48753
2025 Q38752
2025 Q28951
2025 Q19152
2024 Q49052
2024 Q39152
2024 Q29151
2024 Q19051
2023 Q48754
2023 Q38752
2023 Q28950

Other Wolseley models

See how many of every Wolseley 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.