A look under the hood of ECC part 1: How we source our data

At New AutoMotive, our goal with our monthly Electric Car Count (ECC) bulletin is to provide the most accurate and timely data on the UK’s transition to electric vehicles. We're passionate about transparency, and we know that some of our figures can differ slightly from other industry reports.

We've received questions about where our data comes from and how we process it. We want to answer those questions clearly, and in this blog - the first of two parts, we’re aiming to do exactly that. Our methodology is built on sourcing data directly from official government agencies and processing it through a robust, automated system.

Here’s a step-by-step look at how we get our numbers.

Step 1: We get raw data from DVSA

Our data journey begins every single day with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which provides an API that allows users to download bulk vehicle data.

Every morning, our automated system connects directly to the DVSA's servers. It downloads any new files published each day, which contain records for every vehicle that has had an update—this includes brand new registrations as well as updates to existing vehicles, like a new MOT test.

This gives us the raw, foundational data of what’s happening in the UK’s vehicle fleet, straight from the source.

Step 2: We enrich the data with DVLA’s help

That initial record is just the start. To provide the detailed analysis you see in our reports (with breakdowns by vehicle type, for example), we need to 'enrich' this data.

For this, we use the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s Vehicle Enquiry Service (VES) API. Every day, our system takes the list of new and updated vehicles from the DVSA and queries the DVLA's service to get the most up-to-date details for each one. This includes key information such as the fuel type, and vehicle’s body type.

Crucially, our system re-checks a vehicle's details every time it appears in a DVSA update. This ensures that the information we hold is always current, reflecting the latest V5C and tax records available.

Step 3: We combine and finalise the data

Throughout the week, these two streams of data—the initial DVSA records and the detailed DVLA enrichment—are processed by an automated system. This system merges all the information into our central database, ensuring the latest, most accurate record for each vehicle is stored.

Then, to create our final statistics for the month, a special process runs on the first few days of the new month. This is a final check to ensure we've captured all the data from the previous month and that it's all processed and verified before we report on it.

Step 4: We publish the findings

Only when this final, verified dataset is built do we refresh the reports and spreadsheets that feed into the monthly Electric Car Count.

This direct-from-source methodology is why our data is so detailed and timely. In the next blog post, we’ll explore the differences between our own figures and other sources.

We hope this peek 'under the hood' helps explain our process. Our mission is to provide the most accurate data possible to track the UK's transition to cleaner transport, and we're proud of our robust system and our commitment to transparency.