HISTORIC VEHICLES ON THE ROAD - A £4bn HOBBY

Historic vehicles on the road – a £4bn hobby

Published: 04:43PM Jan 31st, 2012
By: Colin Tyson

A recent study into the social, cultural and economic value of the historic vehicle movement undertaken by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) shows that activity resulting from interest in historic vehicles is worth at least £4.3 billion annually to the UK economy, supports employment for 28,000 people and yet is responsible for less than 0.25% of traffic.

Historic vehicles on the road – a £4bn hobby

Mike Penning (right, foreground) Under Secretary of State at the Dept for Transport with Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (seated, centre) and others including classic car owner Lord Steel (standing, above Mike Penning) at the House of Lords reception on December 6, 2011. COLIN TYSON

These headline results were announced on December 6, 2011 to members of the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicle Group (APPHVG), press and business leaders at a reception in the House of Lords hosted by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, President of both FBHVC and APPHVG.

The research underpinning the report was carried out earlier in 2011 in conjunction with the Historic Vehicle Research Institute (HVRI) and is the third time that a team led by Geoff Smith, a Vice President of FBHVC and co-Founder of HVRI, has ‘measured’ the historic vehicle movement. The last survey, in 2006, had found that the historic vehicle movement was worth £3.2 billion and supported employment for 27,000 people.

Commenting on the latest finding, Geoff said: “It is encouraging that the economic value of the movement has at least been maintained in real terms despite recent difficult trading conditions, and it is excellent news that 1000 more people are earning from the movement. Traders are generally optimistic for the future, with many predicting growth leading to new jobs. On the down side, many are concerned that the burden of regulations faced by small businesses may stifle this potential growth before it can start.”

The survey showed that the historic vehicle movement in general continues to enjoy a strong following amongst the general public who spend considerable sums on books, magazines, attending events and purchasing historic vehicle related memorabilia.

After learning of that survey showed that two-thirds of traders were concerned about potential restrictions on the use of historic vehicles, Mike Penning, Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport with responsibility for Road Safety, commented:
“I’m pleased to be able to reassure everyone that there is no intention whatsoever to restrict the use of historic vehicles. I see them as important to our national heritage and would like to see more of them in use.”

For the purposes of the survey, an historic vehicle is one made more than 30 years ago – such vehicles usually being retired from the purpose for which they were built and are now being preserved for posterity.

Key findings included that:
Over 850,000 vehicles made before 1981 survive, 82% of which are used no more than twice a month; 68% of historic vehicles are valued at less than £10,000
and that 4.5 million people attended per year at FBHVC represented club activities alone.

A PDF copy of the full report can be found at www.fbhvc.co.uk/survey-2011

Highlights
The survey found that over 90% of historic vehicles are of types made for personal use (66% cars, 25% motor cycles/three-wheelers) – the remainder made up of buses, coaches and goods vehicles (~5%); ex-military vehicles (~2%); agricultural vehicles (~1%) and steam vehicles (<1%).

50% of historic vehicles cover fewer than 500 miles a year and historic vehicle use is responsible for less than 0.25% of traffic.