‘Mindboggling’ red tape threatens classic car industry, owners warn

A village fete is not often entire devoid of an array of classic cars parked on the grass for motoring supporters to admire. But now historic motor vehicle entrepreneurs are warning the swap to electrification and the crimson tape ensuing from Brexit threaten the survival of enterprises that retain these traditional cars on the highway. 

The classic motor vehicle sector has shaped a new team, the Historic and Vintage Automobiles Alliance (HCVA), to secure an market it says has an annual turnover of £18.3bn and both employs or supports some 113,000 positions, including engineers, restorers, craftsmen and components suppliers.

HCVA estimates there is a fleet of some 1.54m historic cars, described as these in excess of 30 years aged, on Uk roadways. There are a even further 1.47m traditional cars, which are aged 15 to 30 years aged, bringing the complete benefit of these cars to £12.6bn.

Irrespective of their aged-fashioned know-how, these cars are less polluting than predicted as they are driven so not often, covering an ordinary 1,200 miles a calendar year over the average of 16 periods they are driven, a fraction of the 7,000 miles most cars include.