Classic car enthusiasts hail their green, £18.3 billion industry
The classic car industry today moved to highlight its major contribution to the UK economy as the mood music from government turns firmly against the internal combustion engine.
Figures from economics consultancy the Centre for Economics and Business Research showed classic and heritage car fanatics are behind a sector twice the size of the Scotch Whiskey industry and similar to the arts and ports industries.
The government’s new commitment to end sales of petrol and diesel car sales by 2030 has sparked alarm among enthusiasts who fear the direction of travel could see their historic and classic vehicles suffering from punitive taxes or even a scarcity of petrol.
The CEBR and was commissioned to establish the industry’s economic credentials by HERO-ERA, the trade association for the industry, and found that, contrary to beliefs, the classic car bug actually results in fewer CO2 emissions than many other hobbies and pastimes.
Classic cars are only driven an average of 1200 miles a year, producing 563kg of CO2 emissions on average. That is around half the emissions from using a computer or a mobile or taking a week’s holiday in the Mediterranean. the CEBR said.
Doug McWilliams, CEBR chief and 1958 Bentley driver said: “The average driver spends £8000 a year on their classic cars, £4500 of which goes to a garage. You may say we’re mad to do that, but it creates an awful lot of jobs and money going into the economy.”
Annual turnover in the industry is some £18.3 billion, the CEBR found, while it employs some 113,000 people - similar to the numbers working in UK ports.
Tony Jardine of HERO-ERA, fresh from a drive in his 1965 Mini Cooper, said: “We want to show the world that we are not just some niche industry. We create a lot of economic activity, jobs and apprenticeships.”
Jobs in classic and historic vehicle garages tend to be skilled an attract higher wages than other comparable sectors, as well as job satisfaction in the top 8% of UK occupations, the report showed.
However, Jardine said he feared apprentices would no longer be attracted to the industry if the government did not insulate it from the wider pressure on modern petrol and diesel cars.
“When the government’s 2030 plan was announced, parents of apprentices were phoning in to say: 'What is my son or daughter going to do now? It is having an effect on people looking to come into the industry right now."
CEBR found the industry also had a successful track record in hiring former offenders, for whom reoffending rates were far lower than other trades.
The UK classic car industry was the envy of Europe, he said. “Even the Italians say to me: ‘We have nothing like what you have in England.’”
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