Nearly three quarters (73%) of households had access to a car or van in 2000, compared with 70% in 1996, 68% in 1991 and 59% in 1981. The rate of increase in car ownership was lower in the 1990s than in previous decades.

• The proportion of households with access to three or more cars increased from 4% in 1996 to 6% in 1998 and 2000. Throughout the early 1990s, the proportion of households with three or more cars had remained constant at 4%.
• The proportion of households with two or more cars increased steadily from 14% in 1981 to 23% in 1991 and 28% in 2000.
• Car ownership was higher amongst professional, employer and managerial households than in other socio-economic groups. In 2000, over nine out of ten (93-95%) households in these groups had access to a car compared with about six out of ten (61%) of unskilled manual households. Households headed by an economically inactive person were the least likely (51%) to have access to a car.
• 48% of professional and 55% of employer and managerial households had access to two or more cars compared with 20% of semi-skilled and 12% of unskilled manual households.