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

131,632 Volkswagen Ups are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 79.7% of initial MOT tests, 7.4 points above the 72.3% UK average.

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

Volkswagen Up at the MOT

79.7% of 130,858 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Up 200th of 575 models. Volkswagen Ups aged 3 to 5 years passed 90% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 75.4%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volkswagen Up79.7%
  • All Volkswagen modelsThe Up is 6.6 pts ahead73.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volkswagen Up tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years14,235 tests90%
  • 6 to 10 years69,566 tests79.9%
  • 11 years and over44,287 tests75.4%

Where Ups fail

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

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.7%
  • Brakes19.5%
  • Tyres14.8%
  • Suspension12.8%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks10.8%

The items testers recorded most often were headlamp aim too low (5%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (4.9%).

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

Full Volkswagen Up MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Up'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.24.7% of Up failure items

  2. 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.19.5% of Up failure items

  3. 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.14.8% of Up failure items

Volkswagen Ups in the UK

131,632 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 132% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
+132%from 56,770 licensed
Typical year of first use
2015half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier
First registered in 2025
949against 16,878 in 2015
Declared off the road
1,7301.3% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volkswagen Ups since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201456,770
End of 201572,924
End of 201685,830
End of 201798,571
End of 2018111,264
End of 2019119,453
End of 2020121,661
End of 2021126,405
End of 2022129,344
End of 2023131,520
End of 2024131,354
End of 2025131,635
End of June 2026131,632

How old they are

Licensed Volkswagen Ups by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year
Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
2024179834
20232,5432,796
20223,2443,460
20214,2884,529
20203,4203,558
20198,1418,450
201812,70713,187
201712,99713,542
201612,64013,224
201515,98416,878
201420,990
201319,516
201213,345

15,984 Ups first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 95% of the 16,878 first registered that year.

Up engines and fuel

1.0 litre engines made up 98% of Volkswagen Up MOT tests in 2025. Petrol accounts for 98% of licensed Ups and battery electric for 2.3%. Electric examples were 2.1% of tests.

Fuel type, licensed Ups

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol128,56098%
Battery electric3,0652%
Hybrid electric5<0.1%
Gas2<0.1%

Volkswagen Up recalls

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

  1. Aug 2025 R/2025/357

    Takata front drivers or passenger airbag replacement

    Ups built Jul 2012 to Apr 2016 · 279 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Urgent Safety Warning - Do Not Drive Your Vehicle Our information shows your vehicle was originally allocated to or used for an extended period of time in a region with a climate zone considered to as HIGH RISK. Issue: The front airbag in your VW vehicle contains an ageing inflator propellant that may explode when deployed due to long-term exposure to heat and humidity. Risk: If the airbag inflator explodes metal fragments may be ejected causing life-threatening or fatal injuries to anyone in the vehicle.
    Remedy
    The front airbag must be replaced. Immediate Action Required: Stop driving your vehicle immediately. Contact the Takata Stop Drive helpline at 0113 526 9646 (MONDAY to FRIDAY 9:00AM to 5:00PM to arrange your recall service.

  2. Jun 2023 R/2023/178

    Takata Front airbag

    Ups built May 2011 to Jul 2016 · 287,441 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The function of the driver airbag inflators can degrade due to air and moisture ingress.
    Remedy
    Replace airbag

  3. Dec 2017 R/2017/347

    Towing eye in the vehicle tool kit may detach during use

    Ups built Oct 2015 to Jul 2017 · 110,001 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The welding of the towing eye in the vehicle tool kit may not be to specification. As a result the weld on the eye may fail during use causing loss of propulsion and the towrope with the attached eye can potentially cause property damage and personal injury.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and replace the towing eye in the vehicle tool kit.

  4. Mar 2017 R/2017/079

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

    Ups built May 2016 to Oct 2016 · 3,879 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 seatbelt pretensioner where necessary.

  5. Sep 2016 R/2016/221

    Panoramic sunroof may detach

    Ups built Feb 2016 to Apr 2016 · 5 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The front panel of the panorama sunroof may not have been bonded correctly. This can lead to rattling noises during a journey. If the loosening front panel is not detected this poses a danger for the following traffic.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and replace the front panel of the panorama roof.

  6. Jun 2016 R/2016/145

    Child lock may disengage

    Ups built Nov 2015 to Apr 2016 · 13,620 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The door child locks may disengage without driver knowledge. Though the door remains close it is possible for the door to then be opened from the inside.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles inspect lock mechanism and replace where necessary.

  7. Feb 2015 R/2014/176

    Unintentional airbag deployment

    Ups built Feb 2014 to Aug 2014 · 526 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In rare cases an air bag acceleration sensor may give an incorrect signal which can lead to an unintentional airbag deployment
    Remedy
    Recall vehicle check if vehicle is affected and replace the control unit as required.

  8. May 2013 R/2013/057

    Side airbag diagnostic function disabled

    Ups built Jan 2013 to Mar 2013 · 6,395 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Some vehicles may be fitted with airbag control units with incorrect parameters programmed. On these vehicles the diagnostic function for the side crash sensors is deactivated resulting in potential faults not being recognised and the airbag warning not illuminating.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected to re programme the airbag control unit.
How to check a specific Up for recalls

Up vs similar cars

Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.

Other Volkswagen models

The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the Up's 79.7% MOT pass rate.

All 31 Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Up FAQs

How many Volkswagen Ups are there in the UK?

131,632 Volkswagen Ups were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,730 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volkswagen Up 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 79.7% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Up across 130,858 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volkswagen Up had any recalls?

8 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Up. The most recent was published in August 2025. 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 Up?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and tyres. 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 Up'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 Up?

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.