UK MOT Pass Rate Report for May 2026
May was a slightly better MOT month than April. AutoRank counted 3.09 million completed tests with a pass or fail result, and 78.2% passed.
Based on AutoRank MOT tests completed from 1 May 2026 to 31 May 2026, compared with 1 April 2026 to 30 April 2026. Counts include PASSED and FAILED outcomes. Fuel, age and make views are matched to AutoRank vehicle data. Manufacturer tables use makes with at least 10,000 May MOT tests and exclude motorcycle-heavy makes.
Pass rate by fuel type
Hybrids and EVs tend to be newer, so age still matters before judging the fuel type alone.
Overall May result
2,414,424 passes from 3,087,286 completed May tests.
The quick read
AutoRank counted 3,087,286 MOT tests in May with a clear pass or fail result.
2,414,424 passed and 672,862 failed. That puts the May pass rate at 78.2%.
April was 77.2%, so May was a little better. Not a huge jump, but a real move in the right direction.
Fuel type
Hybrids came out highest, with an 87.6% pass rate from 166,817 May tests. EVs followed at 85.6% from 75,186 tests.
Petrol landed at 78.9%. Diesel was lower at 75.6%.
That does not make diesel automatically worse. A lot of diesel cars being tested are older, and many have lived harder lives.
Age tells the story
Three-year-old vehicles passed 87.6% of the time in May. Five-year-old vehicles were close at 86.8%.
By ten years old, the pass rate dropped to 78.5%. For vehicles aged 15 years or more, it was 70.9%.
That is the bit to remember. Age changes the numbers quickly, especially once cars move into older used-car territory.
The makes near the top
With a 10,000-test minimum, Porsche had the highest car-focused pass rate in May at 88.5%. Lexus followed on 85.9%, with Tesla at 84.9%.
BMW, MG, Jaguar and Audi were all above 82%. Good numbers, but still worth reading with age and mileage in mind.
At the other end of the same table, Renault was 72.1%, Citroen 72.5% and Vauxhall 73.9%. That is not a simple good-car bad-car verdict. It is the May MOT pool, and that pool can be older for some makes than others.
What to do with this
For owners, the boring checks still matter. Tyres and lights are worth looking at before the appointment.
If your car is around ten years old, give it a quick look a week early. That leaves time to sort small faults before test day.
For buyers, use this as a starting point. Compare cars of a similar age, look at the mileage and read the MOT history before deciding.
May pass rate by vehicle age
Age is based on the vehicle date available in AutoRank data. Older vehicles fail more often.
Higher pass-rate manufacturers in May
Car-focused makes with at least 10,000 May MOT tests. Age and mileage still matter.
Lower pass-rate manufacturers in May
Same 10,000-test threshold and car-focused filter. Treat this as a monthly MOT mix view.