Being a car leasing company, one question that pops up almost every day (and multiple times per day) from our customers is: "What is the average miles per year for UK drivers?".
Of course, this is a bit of a loaded question, mostly due to the fact that many drivers have different habits. You have drivers who barely touch their car and drivers who are doing 30,000 per month. But if you're reading this article, you're probably wondering what the average is rather than extremes, so let's get into it.
Some facts & figures about our roads
Before we get into the average mileage on our roads, it's worth giving you some information about the amount of cars on our roads and the total amount of miles of road within the UK.
Number of Cars on UK Roads: As of the latest data from 2023, there were around 40 million licensed vehicles in the UK, with the majority being cars.
Total Miles Traveled by Vehicles: In 2023, motor vehicles in Great Britain travelled an estimated 330.8 billion vehicle miles, an increase of 2.2% from 2022. Of this, cars and taxis accounted for about 251.3 billion vehicle miles, representing the bulk of the traffic. This increase is in part a recovery from the pandemic years, though the total is still slightly below pre-pandemic levels. Data taken from the gov.uk website here and here.
Total Mileage of Roads in the UK: The total road length in Great Britain in 2023 is about 245,700 miles. Of this, 187,700 miles are in England, 21,100 miles in Wales, and 37,000 miles in Scotland. The network is categorised into major roads, such as motorways and 'A' roads, and minor roads.
With that data, a fun little fact is that drivers in the UK collectively covered the equivalent of driving the entire 245,700 miles of our roads around 1.35 million times in 2023. Wow!
Average miles travelled per year in the UK broken down
So now with that out of the way, you're probably wondering what the average mileage per year the average driver does. The gov.uk DfT (Department for Transport) website gives us a handy spreadsheet that shows all the data collected on average miles per year and per engine type. We'll copy and paste it below for ease of access.
| Year | Petrol | Diesel | Hybrid |
| 2002 [r] | 8,600 | 12,900 | [x] |
| 2003 [r] | 8,500 | 13,300 | [x] |
| 2004 [r] | 8,300 | 13,300 | [x] |
| 2005 [r] | 8,100 | 12,900 | [x] |
| 2006 [r] | 7,800 | 12,800 | [x] |
| 2007 [r] | 7,800 | 12,800 | [x] |
| 2008 [r] | 7,600 | 12,000 | [x] |
| 2009 [r] | 7,200 | 11,500 | [x] |
| 2010 [r] | 7,100 | 11,400 | [x] |
| 2011 [r] | 7,000 | 10,900 | [x] |
| 2012 [r] | 6,800 | 11,000 | [x] |
| 2013 [r] | 6,700 | 10,600 | [x] |
| 2014 [r] | 6,700 | 10,600 | [x] |
| 2015 [r] | 6,500 | 10,600 | [x] |
| 2016 [r] | 6,500 | 10,200 | [x] |
| 2017 [r] | 6,500 | 10,100 | [x] |
| 2018 [r] | 6,600 | 9,400 | [x] |
| 2019 [r] | 6,400 | 9,500 | [x] |
| 2020 [r] | 5,900 | 8,500 | [x] |
| 2021 [r] | 4,700 | 6,600 | [x] |
| 2022 [r] | 6,000 | 8,000 | [x] |
| 2023 | 6,100 | 8,300 | 8,300 |
Extrapolating the data of the spreadsheet, you can see that generally, drivers have slowly done less miles over the year. The Covid-19 pandemic had the biggest effect on the average mileage, with 2020 and 2021 being the lowest. But it bounced back in 2022 and slightly rose in 2023.
When you combine the year 2023 averages together, you get a figure of 7,567 miles across petrol, diesel and hybrid engine types.
So there's your answer, the latest average miles per year in the UK is 7,567 miles or rounded up to 7,600.
Even more data about British driving habits
If you want to know even more, the DfT conducts national travel surveys which go even further into depth on the habits of British drivers habits. Unfortunately, the data is from 2022 not 2023 but it's still interesting regardless.
Transport by mode
| Measure | Car or van | Walk | Local bus | Other | Pedal cycle | Surface rail | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trip | 58% | 31% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 100% |
| Distance | 78% | 4% | 3% | 8% | 1% | 5% | 100% |
This table shows that cars account for 58% of all trips and have travelled 78% of the total miles.
Why UK citizens travel
| Purpose | Percentage of trips |
|---|---|
| Shopping | 18% |
| Commuting | 14% |
| Other including just walk | 11% |
This table shows the most common reason we leave our houses is to do shopping at 18%.
Travel by sex
| Measure | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
| Trips | 837 | 886 |
| Distance | 5,874 | 4,892 |
This table shows males have slightly fewer average trips than females. But females have generally less mileage even though they have more trips. This means that although males have fewer trips, they are travelling further distances.
Licence holders by sex
| Sex | Proportion of full car driving licence holders |
|---|---|
| All individuals | 75% |
| Males | 81% |
| Females | 71% |
This table shows 75% of English residents aged 17 and over in 2022 held a driving licence. Around 81% of males and 71% of females in this group hold a licence.
Car ownership by household
| Household car availability | Percentage of households |
|---|---|
| No car or van | 22% |
| One car or van | 45% |
| Two or more cars or vans | 34% |
This table shows 78% of households in the UK have at least one car or van. With 34% having more than one and 22% having none.
Established in 2009, Stable Vehicle Contracts is a UK-based premium vehicle leasing company. We are part of a large, privately owned, Volkswagen and Audi dealership group with over 25 sites. Stable Vehicle Contracts has the ability to offer the very best car and commercial vehicle lease deals and thanks to our partners in the trade, we've become leaders in the supply of cars and commercial vehicles through leasing.
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