The nation’s most often clamped car brands…
Anglo Scottish tells us…
Getting a parking ticket is the worst, right? Wrong. If you’ve ever come back to your parked car to find it’s been clamped, you’ll know this instantly feels worse than getting a parking ticket, and there are plenty more hoops you have to jump through to get your car back.
In some cases, your car could be impounded instantly – before you even get a chance to find it clamped! Between April 2022 and May 2023, there were almost 160,000 cars clamped across the UK for being untaxed.
But which car makes are clamped most frequently? Using a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA, the vehicle finance experts at Anglo Scottish have discovered which of the nation’s cars were most clamped during the last 12 months.
| Car make | Total clamped |
| Ford | 24,014 |
| Vauxhall | 19,338 |
| Volkswagen | 15,123 |
| BMW | 11,299 |
| Audi | 9.098 |
| Peugeot | 7,557 |
| Nissan | 6,408 |
| Renault | 6,365 |
| Toyota | 5,955 |
| Citroen | 5,723 |
Ford
As the UK’s most popular car maker, it’s not surprising that Ford tops the list for the most-clamped brand of car. According to data from Confused.com, Fords constituted 9.28% of all registered cars in the UK in 2020.
With a vast range of car models suited to family life, first-time drivers and more, the ever-reliable Ford has been the nation’s favourite since at least 2009. Of all the cars clamped in the UK during the data window, a huge 15% of them were Fords!
Vauxhall
Often associated with boy racers thanks to earlier models like the Vectra, Nova and Corsa, Vauxhall has done well to shed this label in recent years. However, the British car manufacturer has still attracted a little unwanted attention by being Britain’s second-most clamped car make. There were almost 20,000 Vauxhalls clamped between 2022 and 2023!
Volkswagen
The storied German car manufacturer behind iconic cars like the Beetle, Golf and Polo is up next, with just over 15,000 Volkswagens being clamped between April 2022 and May 2023! Volkswagens are the UK’s second-most registered car, and topped the new car rankings in 2021!
The VW empire includes other automotive mainstays like Audi, SEAT and SKODA, but their own cars alone totalled 15,123 clamps!
BMW
You know what they say about BMW drivers, don’t you? Well, apparently, when it comes to taxing your vehicle, BMW drivers aren’t anywhere near as bad as people driving Fords, Vauxhalls or VWs! As one of the few ‘prestige’ brands in this list, it’s safe to assume the average cost of road tax for a BMW would exceed that of a Ford, Vauxhall or Volkswagen. If you can afford the car, however, you had better remember to pay the tax!
Audi
Are Audi drivers also unfairly maligned? Maybe, but they still rank amongst the top five car makes for being clamped in the UK! During the last year, over 9,000 Audi drivers forgot to pay their car tax and were punished accordingly. Perhaps they’ll remember next time – and, some would suggest, remember to start indicating whilst they’re at it…
Peugeot
The first French brand to feature on this list, Peugeot comes in as the sixth-most popular car brand to be clamped in the UK over the last 12 months. Despite over 7,500 Peugeots being clamped during the data collection window, they still account for less than 10% of the total vehicles clamped for being untaxed!
Nissan
Nissans have been growing in popularity in recent years, so it’s not surprising that the brand features on this list of the most-clamped cars. There were 6,408 Nissans clamped for not being taxed during the time period of April 2022 – May 2023.
The Nissan Qashqai was the nation’s number one most-registered new car in 2022; one in every five cars produced in the UK since 2007 is a Qashqai.
Renault
Did you know that Renault has been part of VOLVO since 2001? The French car manufacturer ranks eighth on the list of the UK’s most clamped car brands, thanks to popular models like the Clio and Megane.
Toyota
One of the largest car manufacturers in the world, Toyota manufacture 10 million vehicles per year. In the UK, almost 6,000 Toyotas were clamped last year for being untaxed! With hot hatches like the Yaris and Corolla growing in popularity every year, expect to see Toyota keep climbing this list in the years to come…
Citroën
French carmakers dominate the second half of the top 10 most-clamped cars in the UK – Citroën round out the top 10, with 5,723 cars clamped between April 2022 and April 2023. Citroën’s range of city-ready cars includes the C1 and C3, which are both hugely popular amongst UK drivers. However, they’re also popular with vehicle clampers.
Dan Reavley, Head of Vehicle Finance at Anglo Scottish, comments: “Somewhat unsurprisingly, the most-clamped car brands in the UK are some of the most popular brands in the country by ownership. However, it’s interesting to see Ford ahead by a good distance, particularly when Volkswagen had a reasonably similar market share in the UK in 2020.”
About Anglo Scottish Asset Finance:
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Discover its wide range of finance options today: www.angloscottishfinance.co.uk