Which car brands pass the UK MOT most often?

Background

Across 44 brands and 38,857,783 MOT tests, the data shows a wide spread in first-time pass performance by make. Bentley records the highest brand pass rate at 94.68, while Chevrolet sits at the bottom at 69.75. The gap between those endpoints is 24.9 percentage points, which is large enough to show that brand-level outcomes in the UK MOT system are far from uniform.

The ranking is not driven only by niche marques with very small test counts. Some of the strongest performers also appear with substantial volumes. Toyota posts an 87.97 pass rate across 1,593,261 tests, Honda reaches 90.56 across 799,679 tests, and Audi records 86.45 across 2,196,090 tests. At the other end, weaker results also appear among high-volume brands, including Renault at 75.91 across 1,167,784 tests, Citroen at 77.75 across 1,295,440 tests, and Vauxhall at 79.27 across 3,932,782 tests.

This makes the subject less about isolated outliers and more about a broad pattern in the fleet. The dataset covers both premium and mass-market brands, and it includes enough volume to show where pass rates remain consistently high and where they fall away.

Which brands pass most often

The leading group is dominated by premium and Japanese marques, with Bentley and Aston Martin at the top. Porsche and Lexus also clear 92, while Honda is above 90. MINI, Toyota, Suzuki, Subaru, and Audi complete the top 10.

Brand	Tests	Pass rate
Bentley	14,670	94.68
Aston Martin	12,941	94.47
Porsche	149,594	92.22
Lexus	158,898	92.13
Honda	799,679	90.56
MINI	900,913	88.15
Toyota	1,593,261	87.97
Suzuki	521,839	87.67
Subaru	43,326	87.1
Audi	2,196,090	86.45

Bentley’s lead over Aston Martin is narrow, with 94.68 against 94.47. The more notable break comes after the first 2 positions: Porsche is at 92.22 and Lexus at 92.13, then Honda at 90.56. That means only 6 brands in the full list are at 88 or above: Bentley, Aston Martin, Porsche, Lexus, Honda, and MINI.

Among the higher-volume names, Toyota stands out because it combines scale with a strong result. Its 87.97 pass rate is based on 1,593,261 tests, which gives it a different weight from low-volume luxury brands. Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen also matter because of their large footprints: Audi is at 86.45 from 2,196,090 tests, BMW at 86.41 from 2,238,243, and Volkswagen at 84.66 from 3,399,709.

Which brands struggle most

The bottom of the ranking is led by Chevrolet at 69.75 and Chrysler at 70.8. Below 80, the list also includes Ssangyong, Renault, Citroen, Isuzu, DS, London Taxis Int, Dacia, and Alfa Romeo.

Brand	Tests	Pass rate
Chevrolet	35,955	69.75
Chrysler	11,685	70.8
Ssangyong	42,807	74.99
Renault	1,167,784	75.91
Citroen	1,295,440	77.75
Isuzu	58,991	77.93
DS	97,166	78.09
London Taxis Int	21,987	78.57
Dacia	327,582	78.94
Alfa Romeo	74,722	79.1

What stands out here is that several weak performers are not marginal brands in the test population. Renault’s 75.91 is based on 1,167,784 tests, and Citroen’s 77.75 on 1,295,440. Vauxhall does not make the bottom 10, but its 79.27 across 3,932,782 tests places it only slightly above Alfa Romeo and below Fiat at 79.76.

Ford, another high-volume brand, sits in the middle-lower part of the table rather than near the top. It records an 81.69 pass rate across 5,435,921 tests, the largest test count in the dataset. Nissan, with 2,165,718 tests, is at 82.27. These are not poor results in absolute terms, but they are clearly behind the leading group.

High-volume brands shape the real-world picture

Small luxury brands top the ranking, but the practical UK picture is shaped by the makes that appear in the millions. Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, Nissan, [Mercedes-Benz](/cars/mercedes-benz), Toyota, Peugeot, Kia, Hyundai, Renault, and Citroen account for a large share of the observed tests.

Brand	Tests	Pass rate
Ford	5,435,921	81.69
Vauxhall	3,932,782	79.27
Volkswagen	3,399,709	84.66
BMW	2,238,243	86.41
Audi	2,196,090	86.45
Nissan	2,165,718	82.27
Mercedes-Benz	2,043,012	84.76
Peugeot	1,716,504	80.98
Toyota	1,593,261	87.97
Citroen	1,295,440	77.75

Within this group, Toyota is the clearest standout. Its 87.97 is ahead of Volkswagen at 84.66, Mercedes-Benz at 84.76, Nissan at 82.27, Peugeot at 80.98, Ford at 81.69, and Vauxhall at 79.27. BMW and Audi are also strong, both at 86.41 or higher, and both supported by more than 2,196,090 tests.

By contrast, the large mainstream French and UK-market brands tend to cluster lower. Peugeot is at 80.98, Citroen at 77.75, Renault at 75.91, and Vauxhall at 79.27. That pattern matters because these are not rare vehicles. Their results affect a large share of annual MOT outcomes.

Brand origin and the UK-market split

The dataset also groups brands by origin label, splitting them into unknown and GB. The unknown group accounts for 27,710,588 tests and posts an 84.4 pass rate. The GB group covers 11,147,195 tests and records 80.3.

Origin	Tests	Pass rate
unknown	27,710,588	84.4
GB	11,147,195	80.3

That does not mean every GB-labelled brand performs poorly. Bentley leads the entire ranking at 94.68, Aston Martin is second at 94.47, and Suzuki appears in the top 10 at 87.67. Skoda is also strong at 86.42, while Smart (mcc) reaches 84.94.

But the GB-labelled group also contains many of the weakest brands in the table: Renault at 75.91, Citroen at 77.75, DS at 78.09, Dacia at 78.94, and Vauxhall at 79.27. The group result of 80.3 reflects that mix. In other words, the origin split is useful as a broad summary, but it masks a very wide range of outcomes inside the GB-labelled set.

How pass rates change as cars age

The age breakdown is one of the clearest parts of the dataset. For every brand shown, pass rates decline as vehicles move from age 3 to age 15. The pattern is visible for premium, mainstream, and budget-oriented makes alike.

Brand	Age 3	Age 5	Age 7	Age 10	Age 12	Age 15
Audi	91.8	89.3	85.3	78.4	73.9	69.1
BMW	90.3	88.9	85.4	78.2	75.4	72.3
Citroen	89.0	82.9	76.3	67.7	64.2	60.0
Ford	90.7	85.7	80.4	70.8	66.7	62.7
Mercedes-Benz	90.5	87.4	83.4	76.1	72.0	68.2
Nissan	92.5	87.2	80.7	67.2	64.0	62.7
Peugeot	90.5	85.3	79.5	70.6	64.4	60.4
Toyota	93.7	90.4	87.2	80.6	75.5	69.7
Vauxhall	90.4	84.6	77.7	69.8	64.8	58.4
Volkswagen	91.1	87.7	83.6	74.8	68.8	62.7

Toyota is especially strong through the age bands. It starts at 93.7 at age 3, remains at 90.4 at age 5, stays at 87.2 at age 7, and is still at 80.6 at age 10. BMW and Audi also hold up comparatively well into older ages, with BMW at 72.3 and Audi at 69.1 by age 15.

The weaker end of the age table is led by Vauxhall, Citroen, and Peugeot in later years. Vauxhall falls to 58.4 at age 15, Citroen to 60.0, and Peugeot to 60.4. Ford and Nissan both reach 62.7 at age 15, while Volkswagen is also at 62.7.

What the age data says about durability

The age tables help explain why some brands rank well overall and others do not. A brand can post a solid result at age 3 and still finish much lower overall if pass rates weaken sharply by age 10, age 12, and age 15.

Nissan is a good example. At age 3 it records 92.5, one of the strongest figures in the age dataset. By age 10 it is down to 67.2, by age 12 to 64.0, and by age 15 to 62.7. That helps explain why its overall brand pass rate is only 82.27 despite a very strong early-life showing.

Toyota shows the opposite pattern. It begins at 93.7 at age 3 and remains at 69.7 at age 15. That later-life figure is above Audi’s 69.1, Mercedes-Benz’s 68.2, Ford’s 62.7, Peugeot’s 60.4, Citroen’s 60.0, and Vauxhall’s 58.4. Its overall brand result of 87.97 is consistent with that steadier ageing profile.

Vauxhall’s trajectory is particularly weak in older age bands. It starts at 90.4 at age 3, which is close to Toyota’s 93.7 and Ford’s 90.7, but then falls to 77.7 at age 7, 69.8 at age 10, 64.8 at age 12, and 58.4 at age 15. That pattern aligns with its overall brand pass rate of 79.27.

What this dataset can and cannot answer

The findings answer the headline question clearly: Bentley passes the UK MOT most often in this dataset, at 94.68, while Chevrolet passes least often at 69.75. They also show that the ranking is based on a very large pool of 38,857,783 tests across 44 brands.

The data also supports a more practical conclusion. Among brands with very large test counts, Toyota, Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen are among the stronger performers, while Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, and Fiat sit lower. Ford is highly represented but lands in the lower-middle range at 81.69.

What the findings do not include is MOT pricing. The reader questions ask how much an MOT costs in the UK, including in 2023 and 2024, but there is no price field anywhere in the dataset. For that reason, the report cannot state a standard MOT fee, an average MOT price, or a 2023 or 2024 cost figure without inventing numbers, which this analysis does not do.

There are also limits to brand-level interpretation. Some makes have very small test counts, such as Chrysler at 11,685, Aston Martin at 12,941, and Bentley at 14,670. Others have very large counts, such as Ford at 5,435,921 and Vauxhall at 3,932,782. The rankings are still valid as reported, but the scale behind each brand differs substantially.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Which car brand passes the UK MOT most often? A: Bentley has the highest pass rate at 94.68 from 14,670 tests.

Q: Which brand has the lowest MOT pass rate in this dataset? A: Chevrolet is last at 69.75 from 35,955 tests.

Q: How wide is the gap between the best and worst brands? A: The spread is 24.9 percentage points, from Bentley at 94.68 to Chevrolet at 69.75.

Q: Which high-volume brand performs best? A: Toyota is one of the strongest high-volume brands, with an 87.97 pass rate across 1,593,261 tests.

Q: Do MOT pass rates fall as cars get older? A: Yes. In the age tables, every listed brand declines from age 3 to age 15, such as Toyota from 93.7 to 69.7 and Vauxhall from 90.4 to 58.4.

Q: How much does an MOT cost in the UK? A: This dataset does not include any MOT price figures for the UK, 2023, or 2024.