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Volkswagen Caravelle, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

14,868 Volkswagen Caravelles are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 65.1% of initial MOT tests, 7.2 points below the 72.3% UK average.

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

Volkswagen Caravelle at the MOT

65.1% of 18,267 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Caravelle 429th of 575 models. Volkswagen Caravelles aged 3 to 5 years passed 80.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 60%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volkswagen Caravelle65.1%
  • All Volkswagen modelsThe Caravelle is 8 pts behind73.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volkswagen Caravelle tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years1,798 tests80.6%
  • 6 to 10 years3,986 tests72.8%
  • 11 years and over12,352 tests60%

Where Caravelles fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Volkswagen Caravelle tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment22.4%
  • Suspension21.2%
  • Brakes17.8%
  • Body, chassis, structure11.2%
  • Tyres7.8%

The items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.4%), coil spring fractured or broken (3.3%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3%).

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

Full Volkswagen Caravelle MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

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

  1. 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.22.4% of Caravelle failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.21.2% of Caravelle failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.17.8% of Caravelle failure items

Volkswagen Caravelles in the UK

14,868 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 32% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 15,650 at the end of 2021.

Change since 2014
+32%from 11,259 licensed
Typical year of first use
2012half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2012 or earlier
First registered in 2025
49against 1,052 in 2016
Declared off the road
2,69115% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volkswagen Caravelles since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201411,259
End of 201511,922
End of 201612,828
End of 201713,636
End of 201814,030
End of 201914,616
End of 202014,923
End of 202115,650
End of 202215,601
End of 202315,292
End of 202414,960
End of 202514,720
End of June 202614,868

How old they are

Licensed Volkswagen Caravelles by year of first use.

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

A further 2,743 were first used before 2003.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
2022184219
2021519569
2020669726
2019771876
2018635718
20179071,029
20169501,052
2015664752
2014563
2013652
2012794
2011666
2010571
2009372
2008487
2007517
2006504
2005559
2004420
2003386

664 Caravelles first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 88% of the 752 first registered that year.

Caravelle engines and fuel

2.0 litre engines made up 47% of Volkswagen Caravelle MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.5 litre at 36%. Diesel accounts for 86% of licensed Caravelles and petrol for 13%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 18,241 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre46.6%
  • 2.5 litre36.1%
  • 1.9 litre10.5%
  • 2.4 litre4.3%

Fuel type, licensed Caravelles

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol1,94613%
Diesel12,85486%
Hybrid electric1<0.1%
Gas670.5%

Volkswagen Caravelle recalls

5 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Caravelle. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Caravelle is affected.

  1. Apr 2020 R/2020/125

    Owner's manuals for the transporter were included instead of for the multivan

    Caravelles built Jan 2020 to Feb 2020 · 20 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On T6.1 California vehicles owner's manuals for the Transporter were included instead of for the Multivan.
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the Transporter owner's manual is replaced with the Multivan owner's manual.

  2. Sep 1994 R/1994/032

    Loosening of steering u/j clamping bolt

    Caravelles built Aug 1991 to Jul 1993 · 4,813 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The steering shaft top universal clamping bolt may loosen.This will allow free movement in the steering and if not rectified could lead to loss of steering control.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles and replace the steering shaft top universal clamping bolt and nut with new components.

  3. May 1993 R/1993/010

    Inadvertent release of handbrake

    Caravelles built Oct 1990 to May 1992 · 3,918 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The pawl spring fitted as original equipment to the parking brake may be insufficiently long and consequently fail to exert enough pressure to ensure that the pawl engages positively in the ratchet teeth. This could allow the parking brake to release
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles and replace the original pawl spring with a longer version.

  4. Apr 1993 R/1993/011

    Steering shaft clamping bolts may loosen

    Caravelles built Oct 1990 to Oct 1992 · 74 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The clamp bolt on one of three steering column universal couplings may not have been fully tightened on initial assembly. Should this bolt loosen it could allow excess free movement in the steering and if not rectified loss of steering control.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles check the torque of the subject bolt and where necessary re-tighten it to the manufacturers specifications. Where a clamp bolt is found to be below the specified torque the splines on the shaft will be examined for

  5. Jun 1992 R/1992/032

    Steering rack and lower wishbone fastenings and chafing of the light switch harness

    Caravelles built Oct 1990 to Feb 1992 · 3,066 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    b) The light switch harness may chafe on the dash support with a consequent fire risk. Note that the scope of the defect will depend upon the particular chassis number of the vehicle.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles and b) Secure the light switch harness and protect it by fitting beading to the edge of the dash support.
How to check a specific Caravelle for recalls

Other Volkswagen models

The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the Caravelle's 65.1% MOT pass rate.

All 31 Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Caravelle FAQs

How many Volkswagen Caravelles are there in the UK?

14,868 Volkswagen Caravelles were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 2,691 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volkswagen Caravelle 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 65.1% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Caravelle across 18,267 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volkswagen Caravelle had any recalls?

5 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Caravelle. The most recent was published in April 2020. 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 Volkswagen Caravelle?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. 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 a Volkswagen Caravelle'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 a Caravelle?

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

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Volkswagen history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Volkswagen 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 October 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.