The average CO2 emissions figure of cars on UK roads fell by 1.6% in 2024, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The organisation, which has published its latest Motorparc data on the country’s overall vehicle fleet for 2024, said this reduction was largely thanks to company car emissions being down by 5.6%, compared with private car emissions only being down by 1%.
The overall number of cars on the road reached a new record high of 36,165,401, up by 1.3% year-on-year, contributing to a total parc of 41,964,268 vehicles, also a new record.
The number of electric cars on the road went up by 38.9% to 1,334,246, accounting for 3.7% of cars on the road.
The SMMT added that lower uptake in the new car market meant motorists were holding onto their cars for longer, with the average age of a car on the road now 9.5 years, up from 9.3 years in 2023 and much older than the eight-year-old average of 2019.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Britain’s vehicle parc is growing, providing essential mobility for the nation while reducing its environmental impact. However, there is scope to push environmental improvements much faster as motorists are holding onto their cars for longer, some one-and-a-half years longer on average, than only five years ago.
“Drivers need more incentives and greater confidence in infrastructure investment if we are to replace the high volumes of older high-emission cars with zero-emission alternatives.
“Success will keep the country on the move while driving up economic growth from every business dependent on road transport.”
