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MOT pass rates

MOT pass rate in Newcastle upon Tyne (NE)

In 2025, 73.1% of MOT tests in the Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) postcode area were passed first time, 0.8 points above the Great Britain rate of 72.3%. From 549,678 DVSA MOT tests of cars and light vans aged 3 to 25 years.

MOT data updated

Pass rate, NE (n=549,678)73.1%
Great Britain (n=32,619,595)72.3%
Difference+0.8 pts
Position, highest pass rate first47thof 118 areas

Adjusted for vehicle age, the pass rate is 71.9% (62nd of 118 areas), against 72.3% for Great Britain. Cars tested here are on average 0.7 years younger than the GB average (9.7 against 10.4 years).

Pass rate by age

Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) against Great Britain, 2025. Age bands with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeNE pass rateTests (n)Great BritainDifference
3 to 5 years88.8%99,95187.2%+1.6 pts
6 to 8 years80.6%138,59380.9%−0.3 pts
9 to 11 years70.0%139,27671.9%−1.9 pts
12 to 14 years62.0%86,78063.7%−1.7 pts
15 to 25 years59.0%85,07858.2%+0.8 pts

What cars fail on

Tests with at least one dangerous or major defect in each part of the car, per 100 MOT tests. One test can count under several parts.

Fail reasons per 100 tests, NE (n=549,678) against Great Britain, 2025.
Part of the carNETests with itGreat Britain
Suspension10.055,0939.0
Lights and electrics8.948,94410.6
Brakes6.736,5566.2
Tyres5.329,2056.3
Visibility3.921,2404.3
Body and structure3.820,6463.2
Emissions and leaks3.016,3793.1
Steering2.211,9351.9
Seat belts and airbags0.84,2740.9
Road wheels0.41,9830.4
Number plates and VIN0.21,1960.3

Most tested models

Models with at least 1,000 MOT tests in NE in 2025. Pass rates are not adjusted for age or mileage.
ModelTests (n)SharePass rateMore
Ford Fiesta21,8394.0%66.8%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Vauxhall Corsa18,5123.4%65.6%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Ford Focus14,5162.6%70.7%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Volkswagen Golf14,1162.6%78.5%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Nissan Qashqai11,6512.1%70.2%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
MINI Cooper and One11,0682.0%80.1%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Vauxhall Astra10,3681.9%67.3%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Volkswagen Polo10,0241.8%69.3%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Nissan Juke8,5451.6%68.2%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
BMW 3 Series7,5871.4%79.0%ProblemsRecallsULEZ
Read this with care. An area pass rate reflects the cars tested there: their age, mileage and upkeep, the share of vans and work vehicles, and local roads and weather. It is not a measure of the test centres. Methodology.

Other areas

Near Newcastle upon Tyne in the ranking:

Every postcode area · Methodology · Number plate area codes

Found one you might buy? Vet the specific car.

An area figure says nothing about one car. Its MOT history does: every test, defect, advisory and mileage reading. The VetTheCar Buying Report puts it together with running costs before you pay.

See a sample Buying Report MOT fail rates by model

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal tests, 2025. MOT data updated 17 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources