269 Hyundai Santa Fes held TLC licenses on October 12, 2026, all as for-hire vehicles (FHVs). That is 0.23% of the fleet and 51st place among models.
The surprise is at the new end. Model year 2026 is already the largest group, with 52 cars. And because the Santa Fe has come as gas, hybrid and, for two years, plug-in hybrid, the model year you buy decides which engine you can get.
Data note
TLC's lists of active FHVs and medallion taxis give VINs, not models. TLC Help decoded each VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder. vPIC reports "Santa Fe" as one family and supplies the fuel type, which can be off for some model years. The snapshot is from one day.
Newest year on top
Across all FHVs, model year 2026 is still smaller than 2025 (8.6% vs 11.6% of the fleet in TLC's model-year data). The Santa Fe is the reverse: 52 are 2026s, more than any other year. Add 2025 (28) and 2024 (13) and 34.6% of Santa Fes are 2024 or newer, close to the roughly 31% for all FHVs.
There is also an older bump: 32 from 2017, compared with 9 from 2018. Those 2017 cars are now around nine years old. Only 12 Santa Fes (4.5%) are 2016 or older.
TLC's current FHV rules set no fixed retirement age; inspections decide. See TLC vehicle retirement age and TLC vehicle inspection.
Which engine each year offers
The TLC data does not split powertrain by model year, but the EPA's model listings show which versions existed:
So the 7 plug-ins should be 2022 or 2023 cars, and the 99 hybrids should be among the 174 Santa Fes from 2021 on. That works out to more than half of those newer cars.
EPA ratings: the 2026 Santa Fe Hybrid FWD is rated 36 mpg combined (EPA) and the AWD hybrid 34. Gas 2026 Santa Fes are rated 21 to 24 mpg, with 24 for the FWD (EPA). The 2022 Plug-in Hybrid is rated for 31 miles on electricity and 33 mpg on gas (EPA). EPA numbers are test results; real mileage in Manhattan traffic will differ. To compare the costs with your own miles, use the lease-vs-buy tool.
What these numbers can't tell you
With only 269 cars, small changes move the percentages a lot: a dozen Santa Fes joining or leaving would shift the 2026 share by several points. The counts also say nothing about reliability, repair costs or how much these cars earn. A model being common on TLC plates is not a recommendation. Before buying, look up the specific vehicle's recall history with its VIN and get your own insurance quote, because FHV insurance must meet TLC minimums (FHV insurance requirements).
Base types
264 Santa Fes (98.1%) are at black car bases, the base type used for app work, and 5 at livery bases. There are none at luxury limousine bases, none as yellow taxis, and none marked wheelchair accessible.
Plates
New FHV licenses go only to approved wheelchair accessible vehicles (TLC). To drive a Santa Fe for hire, you need an existing license that isn't WAV-restricted, and you move it to the Santa Fe with a vehicle transfer filed within 15 days of DMV registration (rule 59A-09(a), chapter 59). See TLC plates for FHVs.
The Santa Fe and Hyundai Tucson have almost the same hybrid share. Compare the Kia Sorento, Kia Sportage, Volvo XC90 and the full list in TLC fleet by make and model.
More in the vehicles topic.
Data on this page
Aggregates of public data. They describe trips and vehicles, never individual people.
TLC's vehicle lists have no make/model column, so TLC Help decoded the VIN of every licensed vehicle with NHTSA's vPIC decoder (one representative VIN per manufacturer + model-descriptor + model-year pattern) and published only counts. 5 of 115,081 vehicles (0%) could not be decoded to a model and are left out. vPIC sometimes reports trim-family names (e.g. 'RX' not 'RX 350h'); powertrain comes from vPIC's electrification/fuel fields and may misclassify a few model years. Snapshot lists change daily.
- Hyundai Santa Fe: licensed TLC vehicles by model year — Active FHVs and authorized medallion taxis that are a Hyundai Santa Fe, by model year.NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026Model year from TLC's vehicle_year / model_year columns. Age limits for TLC vehicles come from TLC rules, not this chart.
- Hyundai Santa Fe in the TLC fleet: hybrid, electric or gas — Licensed Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles by powertrain (from decoded VINs).NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026
- Hyundai Santa Fe: where it is licensed (FHV base type vs medallion taxi) — Licensed Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles by fleet: FHVs by the type of base they are affiliated with, and medallion taxis.NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026Wheelchair-accessible (FHV list): 0 WAV, 0 PILOT. App-based (high-volume) work generally runs through black car bases.
Frequently asked questions
How many Hyundai Santa Fes are licensed by the TLC?
269 on October 12, 2026, all for-hire vehicles and none as yellow taxis, or 0.23% of TLC vehicles. TLC Help counted them by decoding VINs with NHTSA's vPIC decoder.
Which model year of Santa Fe is most common on TLC plates?
2026, with 52 cars (19.3%). It is unusual for the newest model year to be the largest. Model years 2023 (36), 2017 (32) and 2022 (32) come next.
Which Santa Fe years can be hybrid?
The EPA first lists a Santa Fe Hybrid for model year 2021 and a Plug-in Hybrid only for 2022 and 2023. Older Santa Fes are gas. On TLC plates, 99 decode as hybrid, 7 as plug-in hybrid and 163 as gas.
Can I get new TLC plates for a Santa Fe?
No. New FHV licenses are only issued for approved wheelchair accessible vehicles, and the Santa Fe is not on that list. You can move an existing non-WAV FHV license to a Santa Fe with a vehicle transfer.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- NYC Open Data: For Hire Vehicles (FHV) – Active (8wbx-tsch) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NYC Open Data: Medallion Vehicles – Authorized (rhe8-mgbb) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder API vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov
- fueleconomy.gov: 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe FWD fueleconomy.gov
- fueleconomy.gov: 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid FWD fueleconomy.gov
- fueleconomy.gov: 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid fueleconomy.gov
- fueleconomy.gov: Find a Car (model listings by year) fueleconomy.gov
- TLC: Get a For-Hire Vehicle License nyc.gov
- TLC Rule Book Chapter 59 (For-Hire Vehicles) nyc.gov
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it against the official source.
TLC Help is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission or OATH. Explanations on this site are general information, not legal advice. Legal representation is provided by independent attorneys and OATH-registered representatives in our network.