Data last verified: 12 November 2026. Figures re-checked against their primary sources under the Whito rolling re-verification programme.
Last Updated on November 13, 2026
Read a short summary
General summary
The UK had 50,935 garage businesses in March 2026, 45.6% more than in 2010. But Great Britain had fewer private MOT stations in 2025-26 (23,092) than in 2016-17 (23,421). Most new garage firms are not MOT testers. London has 15.0 car MOT stations per 100,000 people, against 41.7 in Wales. Only 13 of 63 independent garage websites Whito checked showed an MOT price.
Bullet points
- 50,935 UK garage businesses in March 2026 (ONS), 45.6% more than in 2010.
- 22,988 active MOT test stations in Great Britain on the DVSA list of 30 September 2026.
- 93.1% of garage businesses have under 10 staff.
- 27.5% of cars and vans failed their MOT first time in 2025-26.
- 13 of 63 independent garage websites (21%) showed an MOT price on 12 November 2026.
Basic explainer
An MOT is the yearly safety test most UK vehicles must pass. Only garages approved as MOT stations can do it. This report counts UK garage businesses and MOT stations. The number of garages has grown a lot since 2010. The number of MOT stations has not. Whito calls this the bay gap. The report also checked whether garage websites show the price of an MOT. Most do not.
These summaries were written with AI from this page only. The full page below is the record.
Short answer. The UK had 50,935 garage businesses in March 2026, 45.6% more than in 2010. But Great Britain had fewer private MOT stations in 2025-26 (23,092) than in 2016-17 (23,421). Most new garage firms are not MOT testers. London has 15.0 car MOT stations per 100,000 people, against 41.7 in Wales. And only 13 of 63 independent garage websites we checked showed an MOT price.
Download the full report (PDF, 24 pages). Free to read and cite.
The bay gap: more garages, not more MOT stations
Between 2013 and 2026, the number of garage businesses grew 38.8%. The number of private MOT test stations grew 4.7%, and has drifted down since 2016-17. We call this the bay gap. The trade is adding firms, but not adding places that can carry out the one service every car needs by law.
Over the same years, the number of people allowed to carry out MOTs reached 66,925, the highest in the DVSA table. Existing stations are adding testers rather than new sites opening.
Where garages and MOT stations are
| Region | Garage businesses 2026 | Per 100k | Change since 2010 | Car MOT stations | Per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 1,660 | 60.1 | +53.0% | 894 | 32.4 |
| North West | 5,325 | 68.5 | +37.8% | 2,454 | 31.6 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,330 | 76.3 | +47.8% | 2,056 | 36.2 |
| East Midlands | 4,295 | 84.5 | +54.5% | 1,839 | 36.2 |
| West Midlands | 5,120 | 82.5 | +58.5% | 2,071 | 33.4 |
| East of England | 5,720 | 86.5 | +48.4% | 2,210 | 33.4 |
| London | 4,040 | 44.3 | +49.1% | 1,371 | 15.0 |
| South East | 7,375 | 76.1 | +38.2% | 2,969 | 30.6 |
| South West | 5,195 | 87.9 | +38.7% | 2,435 | 41.2 |
| Wales | 2,535 | 79.8 | +36.7% | 1,324 | 41.7 |
| Scotland | 3,775 | 68.1 | +47.7% | 2,015 | 36.3 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,560 | 80.9 | +50.7% | n/a | n/a |
| United Kingdom | 50,935 | 73.3 | +45.6% | n/a | n/a |
Sources: ONS UK Business Counts (SIC 45200), DVSA active MOT test stations (30 Sep 2026), ONS mid-2025 population. Per-head figures are Whito calculations. 480 car MOT sites could not be matched to a region. Northern Ireland MOTs are carried out at government test centres.
Who runs MOT testing
Kwik Fit (539 sites) and Halfords Autocentres (488) are the largest named operators. The ten largest run 1,747 sites between them, 7.6% of the total.
What garages charge, and what they show
We drew a random sample of 145 independent MOT stations from the DVSA list and read their websites on 12 November 2026.
The national chains were no easier. National Tyres and Autocare showed an MOT price of £49.99. Kwik Fit showed “MOT & Service from £221.95” but no MOT-only price. Halfords asked for a registration and postcode before showing any price.
Demand and pressures
DVSA recorded 33.3 million car and van MOTs in 2025-26. Fewer fail first time each year, which means fewer repair jobs created by the MOT itself. Meanwhile the Institute of the Motor Industry says 35% of technicians were EV qualified at the end of 2025, and projects a shortfall of more than 43,000 by 2035.
The MOT fee cap itself is covered in our earlier study: The MOT fee has not risen since 2010. What is a UK garage losing every year?
What this means for a UK garage business
- Own your own name in search. For 77 of 145 sampled MOT stations, the top two results for the garage’s name and town were directories, not its own site.
- Publish your MOT price. Only one in five independent sites we checked did.
- Build repeat work that does not rely on MOT fails. Fail rates are falling.
- Train for EV and hybrid servicing now. The skills gap opens from the early 2030s.
Want the numbers for your area? The full data file has every local authority in Great Britain, the price sample with sources, and the regional series from 2010.
Get the garage data file Order a Market Opportunity ReportMethod
Business counts: ONS UK Business Counts, enterprises (Nomis NM_142_1), SIC 45200, 2010 to 2026, read 12 November 2026. MOT stations: DVSA active MOT test stations file dated 30 September 2026, matched to areas with postcodes.io. MOT tests, stations, testers and enforcement: DVSA MOT testing data tables MOT-01, MOT-06 and MOT-07. Prices: random sample of 145 independent class 4 MOT stations (fixed seed, up to 14 per region); name and town searched on DuckDuckGo; own website opened in a normal browser and MOT, price and servicing pages read on 12 November 2026. Full method and limits are in the PDF.
Compare with other industries: see how garages compare with eleven other UK industries by number of businesses, growth since 2010 and business size, in one table: UK industries compared 2026.
Common questions
How many garages are there in the UK?
The ONS counted 50,935 businesses whose main activity is vehicle maintenance and repair (SIC 45200) in March 2026, up 45.6% since 2010. DVSA listed 22,988 active MOT test stations in Great Britain on 30 September 2026.
How much does an MOT cost in 2026?
The legal maximum for a car is £54.85. In a Whito check of 63 independent garage websites in November 2026, 13 showed an MOT price; those ran from £39.99 to £54.85, with a median of £49.95. That is a small sample, not a national average.
Which areas have the fewest MOT stations?
London has 15.0 car MOT stations per 100,000 residents against 41.7 in Wales. Westminster has 3 car MOT stations for 212,367 residents.
Who are the biggest MOT operators?
By number of DVSA-listed sites, Kwik Fit (539) and Halfords Autocentres (488), then Formula One Autocentres (163) and Arnold Clark (142). About nine in ten MOT stations are not part of a named chain or dealer group.
Do garages show their prices online?
Few do. Of 63 independent garage websites Whito checked, 13 (21%) showed an MOT price and 9 (14%) a service price. Kwik Fit and Halfords did not show a plain MOT-only price on their main MOT pages on 12 November 2026.
Sources
- ONS, UK Business Counts (NM_142_1) and mid-2025 population estimates (NM_2002_1), via nomisweb.co.uk, read 12 November 2026.
- DVSA, Active MOT test stations, file dated 30 September 2026.
- DVSA, MOT testing data for Great Britain, read 12 November 2026.
- GOV.UK, MOT test fees, read 12 November 2026.
- IMI, EV TechSafe Technician Forecast Q4 2025.
- National Tyres and Autocare, Kwik Fit and Halfords MOT pages, and 63 independent garage websites, read 12 November 2026.
- The MOT fee has not risen since 2010
- The Cheap MOT Trap
- UK Garage Marketing Leaderboard 2026
- All garage research and guides
- Local Market Gap Finder
