I recently attended a session put on for those operating in the classic car industry, reviewing the findings of an organisation called AssetClassic. Although I am not generally that keen on classic cars being viewed in financial terms or treated as assets, I am more interested in their history and peoples passion for rusty old cars, I confess I found their findings interesting. Among their conclusions were that the total value of the global classic car market is around €80bn, with a value chain of €89–90bn, and that the wider industry revolving around classic cars is significant at approximately €40bn. This prompted me to consider: what size is the UK market and, particularly in the light of the recent budget and the months leading up to it, how much tax revenue does the industry generate? The point being that the classic car world has a far larger economic footprint than many might imagine.
While we could find no recent, fully reliable evidence, HERO-ERA produced a report in 2020 which supports the view that the UK market makes a substantial contribution to our economy. HERO estimated the value of the UK’s stock of classic vehicles at £12.6bn. In total, the industry contributes £8.7bn of Gross Value Added to the UK (a rough equivalent to GDP) and provides employment for more than 110,000 people. Finally—and pertinent given we have all been forced to become economic experts in the run-up to the recent Budget—the sector generates £2.9bn in tax revenues, mainly through income tax, National Insurance and VAT.
To put that into context, aside from financial services, the sectors most often cited for their economic contribution include the fishing industry (£1.1bn), Scotch whisky (£7.3bn) and the music industry (£8bn). The HCVA, the body representing our market, points out that the UK classic car sector is larger than all of these oft-quoted industries.
Our sector is therefore not only significant in size but also makes a meaningful contribution to the UK economy—a contribution that is scarcely understood, let alone recognised, by our political leaders.