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Audi A1, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

274,860 Audi A1s are licensed in the UK, the 28th most common model on the road. In 2025 they passed 76.3% of initial MOT tests, 4 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific A1? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Audi A1 at the MOT

76.3% of 235,805 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the A1 245th of 575 models. Audi A1s aged 3 to 5 years passed 88% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.7%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Audi A176.3%
  • All Audi modelsThe A1 is 2.2 pts behind78.5%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Audi A1 tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years44,001 tests88%
  • 6 to 10 years111,158 tests76%
  • 11 years and over68,198 tests66.7%

Where A1s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Audi A1 tests in 2025.

  • Suspension26.5%
  • Tyres20.6%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment16.5%
  • Brakes14.5%
  • Visibility6.5%

The items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (9.9%), coil spring fractured or broken (7.7%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (7.2%).

The MOT page lists every common A1 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Audi A1 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The A1's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.26.5% of A1 failure items

  2. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.20.6% of A1 failure items

  3. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.16.5% of A1 failure items

Audi A1s in the UK

274,860 were licensed at the end of June 2026, the 2nd most of any Audi. The number licensed has grown 221% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
+221%from 85,585 licensed
Typical year of first use
2017half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2017 or earlier
First registered in 2025
14,034against 26,286 in 2016
Declared off the road
3,8771.4% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Audi A1s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201485,585
End of 2015108,580
End of 2016132,975
End of 2017154,850
End of 2018173,090
End of 2019192,378
End of 2020202,386
End of 2021216,732
End of 2022230,676
End of 2023246,820
End of 2024257,971
End of 2025269,032
End of June 2026274,860

How old they are

Licensed Audi A1s by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 1,270 were first used before 2011.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
202513,56514,034
202413,27913,809
202316,63417,388
202214,18815,036
202113,59514,239
202012,88613,530
201919,58420,589
201818,81119,909
201721,80223,235
201624,46326,286
201522,48024,344
201422,144
201321,430
201217,291
201114,878

22,480 A1s first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 92% of the 24,344 first registered that year.

A1 engines and fuel

1.4 litre engines made up 39% of Audi A1 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.0 litre at 31%. Petrol accounts for 82% of licensed A1s and diesel for 18%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 235,801 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.4 litre38.7%
  • 1.0 litre30.5%
  • 1.6 litre19%
  • 1.5 litre4.4%
  • 1.2 litre4.1%

Fuel type, licensed A1s

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol226,73282%
Diesel48,12618%
Hybrid electric2<0.1%

Audi A1 recalls

1 DVSA safety recall launched from 2010 to July 2026 names the Audi A1. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every A1 is affected.

  1. Feb 2017 R/2017/078

    Airbag/belt tensioners may not trigger in event of an accident

    A1s built May 2016 to Oct 2016 · 2,622 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to an error in the manufacturing process the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioner may not trigger in the event of a collision
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace air bag assembly and seta belt pretensioner where necessary.
How to check a specific A1 for recalls

Other Audi models

The most-tested Audi models in 2025, against the A1's 76.3% MOT pass rate.

All 24 Audi models

Audi A1 FAQs

How many Audi A1s are there in the UK?

274,860 Audi A1s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 3,877 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Audi A1 reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 76.3% first-time pass rate for the Audi A1 across 235,805 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Audi A1 had any recalls?

1 DVSA safety recall launched from 2010 to July 2026 names the Audi A1. The most recent was published in February 2017. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Audi A1?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, tyres and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check an Audi A1's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found an A1?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Audi history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Audi VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.