7-YEARS-OLD: Average taxi age in England revealed along with most popular models

The push towards new cleaner taxis has seen the taxi fleet change dynamically throughout the regions.

In the latest statistics, the age of both taxis and private hire vehicle (PHV) is calculated based on the date of first use of the vehicle. This is usually when it was first registered with the DVLA.

The average age of a taxi in England as of 31 March 2022 was 7.4 years, whereas the average age of a PHV was 6.2 years. These figures were both lower than for cars, with DfT vehicle licensing statistics showing that as of 31 December 2021, the average age of a car in Great Britain was 8.8 years.

Around 36% of cars were 10 or more years old, compared with 29% of taxis and 15% of PHVs. This appears consistent with the higher mileage that most taxis and PHVs are likely to do.

There were some differences in the age of the taxi and PHV fleet by region. While the average age of a taxi was 6.0 years in London, it was 9.0 years in the North West and the West Midlands. In those regions nearly half of the taxi fleet was over 10 years old. Similar regional variations existed for the PHV fleet.

When combining fuel type and age of vehicle, for both taxis and PHVs it is apparent that petrol and diesel vehicles tend to be older on average than other fuel types. This reflects the fact that some of the other fuel types are newer technologies. For example, the average age of petrol and diesel PHVs was 6.6 years, while for battery electric PHVs this was just 1.2 years.

The most common models of taxi as of 31 March 2022 were the London Taxis International TX4, accounting for 17% of all taxis, and the London Electric Vehicle Company TX, accounting for 10%.

The next most common models were the Mercedes Vito (9%) and Skoda Octavia (5%).

The most common PHV models were unsurprisingly the Toyota Prius (21%), Toyota Auris (7%) and the Mercedes E class (6%).