FBHVC’s aim is protect the right to use historic vehicles on the road. This often requires FBHVC to respond to government consultations and to lobby both in Westminster and in Brussels to seek special treatment to ensure that users of historic vehicles are not unfairly disadvantaged.
Background knowledge about the subject in question and the interests being represented are essential if such representations are to be successful. FBHVC’s legislation team includes specialists on all aspects of the historic vehicle movement to ensure the relevant expertise is available when needed.
At the same time, considerable effort is made to understand the character and size of the historic vehicle movement by working with FIVA and the Historic Vehicle Research Institute to measure the extent of activity. HVRI is an international partnership of people and organisations that aim to promote and protect our motoring heritage through research based knowledge, and FBHVC is one of the active partners.
By understanding how the vehicles now considered to be historic continue to be bought, sold, repaired, restored and just plain enjoyed, FBHVC is well armed to combat threats from legislation and to speak with authority about the historic vehicle movement.
In 2006, under the auspices of FIVA, FBHVC and HVRI led a major survey of the historic vehicle movement in several European countries. The UK element of this project demonstrated that the UK historic vehicle movement is worth £3 billion annually.
At the other end of the scale to such national surveys, FBHVC has carried out the first study of the effect of a major historic vehicle event on one community. Working with a team from the University of Brighton, FBHVC carried out an economic impact study demonstrating the benefit to the city of Brighton and Hove of the 2010 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The results were announced in September 2011 and show that the event brings over £1m extra spending to the city.
FBHVC & HVRI undertook a new survey of the British historic vehicle movement during the summer of 2011 with the intention of bringing the 2006 data up to date and identifying any new trends. The data collection process was completed in August and the results were published in December 2011 in a report entitled “The £4 Billion Hobby”. As the report title implies, the results show that the economic value of the historic vehicle movement had risen to over £4 billion since the 2006 survey. Aside from the economic results, the report also shows that the number of people who earn at least some of their income from the historic vehicle movement has risen from 27,000 to 28,000, despite the recession.
Reports on the results of the surveys can be found by clicking on the links here. They are in pdf format so will require an Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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