The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs has launched its National Historic Vehicle Survey with a view to presenting results to parliament 

Historic vehicle enthusiasts are being urged to have their say as part of a major survey that could have a major impact on the future of classics in Britain. Commissioned by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC), the National Historic Vehicle Survey (NHVS) went live on February 10 as part of an on-going research programme that can be used to inform Westminster of the historic vehicle sector’s importance to the nation.

The Federation has been at the forefront of research into historic vehicle activity for over 20 years, with the first survey conducted in 1997. They broadly take place every five years, with most recent based on data collected in 2019. The survey is important because it measures the level of interest in historic vehicles among the wider public, and secondly delivers robust insights on the ownership of historic vehicles in terms of cost, usage, event attendance, type of vehicle and so on. It also surveys club representatives, and the trade.

“We need to influence politicians and the media at home and in Europe so they may argue our case and thus help support and maintain our current freedoms,” said a Federation spokesman.

“The best way of exerting that influence is to demonstrate the historic vehicle movement’s contribution at international, national and local levels. Our research projects are aimed at providing up to date facts and figures to do just that.”

The 2025 survey is being carried out by long-established market research agency Turquoise. Its joint managing director, Mark Harvey, said: “The 2019-2020 survey attracted almost 16,000 owners from owners, enthusiasts, clubs and trade, and a further 2500 from the wider public. If I can put that into context, the government base their decisions on exit polls of 2000 people. This is a really robust survey, and the bigger the response the more accurate it will be, so your participation is absolutely vital.”

There will be three core surveys that form the NHVS. These include a survey for owners and enthusiasts, collecting data from club representatives, and data from trade and museums. On top of this, a survey once again will go to 2500 demographically representative adults across the UK.

The research closes in May, and it’s hoped that the results can be presented to Parliament when it comes back from summer recess at the beginning of September, once again stressing the importance of historic vehicles to the nation’s heritage and its multi-billion-pound contribution to the wider economy. The most recent survey revealed 18.7 million Brits see historic vehicles as an important part of the Britain’s heritage, and the sector is worth £7.2 billion to the UK economy.

For more information and to fill out the survey, visit the FBHVC website