UK bought twice as many cars as it scrapped this year

The UK bought more than twice as many cars as it scrapped in 2023, according to data obtained by Autocar.

Obtained by Freedom of Information request, it revealed that 798,363 cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) were scrapped between the start of January and the end of October. 

That’s less than half of the 1,889,758 new cars and LCVs purchased over the same period, and a drop compared with the 857,107 vehicles scrapped over the same period last year.

This was despite the boost likely provided by London’s ULEZ scrappage scheme, which had its eligibility criteria broadened in early August. 

Autocar recently reported that the ULEZ scrappage scheme was struggling to meet demand from applicants, following the expansion of the clean-air zone on 29 August.

The previous ULEZ scrappage scheme – which ran in 2021 and had much stricter requirements – was alone responsible for taking some 15,000 cars off the road, according to Transport for London.

Nonetheless, the UK’s car parc continues to age: European industry lobby group the ACEA published figures in January revealing that the UK’s average car was 10 years old.

The Ford Focus was the most-scrapped car in the UK this year, with 42,637 examples going to scrapyards.

The Focus has long been one of the UK’s favourite cars. On its arrival in late 1998, it set a new benchmark for family-minded buyers, handily beating its rivals in almost every respect.

It had more radical, forward-thinking styling, rode more comfortably, handled better and yet wasn’t significantly more expensive.

Between 1999 and 2009 – over two generations – the Focus held the top spot on the UK’s annual new car sales charts.

After that point, the smaller Ford Fiesta became the nation’s most-bought car, but the Focus remained a regular fixture in the top 10. 

Since 2009, there have been another two generations of Focus, but the long-running hatchback will meet its end in 2025, amid Ford’s wider reinvention in Europe.

Indeed, the list of the nation’s most-scrapped cars broadly mirrors the previous two decades’ annual best-seller lists.

The Focus was followed by the Vauxhall Astra, of which 35,578 examples were destroyed between January and October.

The Vauxhall Corsa was next, at 34,405, followed by the Fiesta, at 32,935.

The UK’s most-scrapped cars, January-October 2023

1. Ford Focus – 42,637 units

2. Vauxhall Astra – 35,578 units

3. Vauxhall Corsa – 34,405 units

4. Ford Fiesta – 32,935 units

5. Vauxhall Zafira – 16,898 units

6. Volkswagen Golf – 25,903 units

7. Renault Clio – 15,955 units

8. Ford Mondeo – 14,218 units

9. Volkswagen Polo – 13,722 units

10. BMW 3 Series – 13,642 units