Vauxhall UK’s most scrapped car says Car.co.uk

Well, this is interesting, finding out which cars are being scrapped right now is a clue as to what is happening in the new and used car market. You can do some interpretation for yourself, but first take a look at the stats.

According to Car.co.uk’s 2026 Scrap Report, Vauxhall is the UK’s most scrapped car brand, with 207,107 vehicle scrap enquiries between 2021 and 2026, accounting for 16.26% of all scrapped cars in the dataset. Ford follows closely behind with 196,907 scrap enquiries, while Volkswagen ranks third with 100,039 scrap enquiries.

Notably, Vauxhall vehicles are scrapped younger than any other brand in the top 10 at an average age of 15.17 years. They also have an average of four owners across their lifetime.

Out of Vauxhall’s scrapped cars, 1,780 were scrapped within one year of a change in ownership, the highest figure in the top 10, and the manufacturer records the shortest average time since last ownership change at 8.76 years.

William Fletcher MBE, CEO at Car.co.uk explains:

“There isn’t a perfect number of owners a car should have, but frequent ownership changes can sometimes signal underlying issues, such as rising repair costs, or simply that the vehicle no longer meets drivers’ needs.

“What we’re seeing with Vauxhall reflects its popularity over the past two decades. High sales volumes inevitably lead to high scrap volumes later on.”

2026 Scrap Report: fuel breakdown

Petrol and diesel vehicles continue to make up the overwhelming majority of scrapped cars between 2021 and 2026.

Vauxhall and Ford dominate petrol scrappage, with 138,178 and 116,137 petrol vehicle scrap enquiries respectively. Ford overtakes Vauxhall when it comes to diesel, with 80,682 diesel vehicle scrap enquiries, compared to Vauxhall’s 68,783.

Volkswagen recorded 46,537 petrol vehicles scrapped, less than half of Ford’s petrol total, though its diesel figure (53,434) slightly exceeds its petrol scrappage.

Most scrapped electric cars

Car.co.uk’s 2026 Scrap Report reveals that Nissan has the highest number of scrapped electric vehicles, with 84 recorded between 2021 and 2026, more than double second-placed Renault (38).

While these numbers are modest compared to petrol and diesel figures, they provide an early indication of how first-generation EVs are ageing.

William Fletcher MBE, CEO at Car.co.uk explains:

“Electric vehicles are still relatively young compared to traditional petrol and diesel cars, so scrappage volumes remain low, with just 449 electric cars scrapped between 2021 and 2026.

“In most cases, electric cars are scrapped due to battery degradation. Battery replacement remains one of the most expensive repairs a driver can face, and if the cost exceeds the vehicle’s value, scrapping becomes the only viable option.”

Most scrapped hybrid cars

Hybrid vehicles show significantly higher scrap volumes than fully electric models.

Toyota leads by a considerable margin, with 977 hybrid vehicles scrapped between 2021 and 2026, more than double second-placed Lexus (412). Honda (292) and BMW (234) follow behind.

This comes at a time when British drivers show strong interest in hybrid technology, with 42% expressing interest in buying a hybrid vehicle in 2025.3 William Fletcher MBE, CEO at Car.co.uk explains:

“Hybrid cars currently occupy a transitional space in the UK market. While the government’s 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel sales is accelerating the shift toward electrification, hybrids can still be sold until 2035.

“What we’re seeing now is the natural ageing of early hybrid models, with 2023 our most popular year on record for hybrid scrappage (1,108 cars).

“The dip in scrappage in 2024 (560 cars) and 2025 (387 cars) likely reflects the fact that we’ve now moved past the bulk of hybrids sold in the late 2000s and early 2010s that have reached scrap age. In other words, there’s a gap in the product cycle: fewer older hybrids left to scrap.

“We might expect scrappage figures to remain low for hybrids over the next five years, before drivers make the shift to electric.”

1] Deloitte | Automotive sector quarterly update

[2] Car Supermarket | March Madness: Private Car Buyers Return as UK Sales Surge 12.4%

[3] YouGov | Top reasons UK consumers are buying hybrid cars in 2024