Analysis reveals that exhaust emissions from classic cars are falling year-on-year, despite the overall number of these vehicles increasing.
New research by automotive communications agency Loop found the number of classic cars being driven on British roads has doubled in the last decade.
Despite this, emissions from the entire classic vehicle sector have only increased by 34 percent.
The trend for ‘modern classic’ cars, with newer fuel-saving technology, has contributed to a 16 percent reduction in average emissions per vehicle.
Modern classics bring modern tech
Loop’s study found the UK had 466,830 classic cars in 2013 (officially defined as vehicles aged more than 30 years old).
By the end of 2024, this number had more than doubled to 1,056,919, with some 63,000 cars gaining classic status in 2024 alone.
With vehicles from the mid-1990s now entering the classic sector, technology such as fuel injection and electronic ignition is becoming commonplace.
Engineering innovations, along with better manufacturing processes and quality control, are also credited by Loop for a 21 percent improvement in average fuel economy between 1978 and 1995.
Millennials make a difference
Average annual CO2e emissions per car fell from 899kg in 2013 to 757kg last year. And despite the increased numbers of classic cars on the road, they still contribute just 0.3 percent of the UK’s overall transport CO2 emissions.
Classic car use is increasing again, with vehicles driven for an average of 1,535 miles a year – the same as in 2013.
“Ten years ago, there were roughly 18,000 cars on our roads that were exactly 30 years old,” explained Alex Kefford, head of editorial at Loop. “Today there are nearly 70,000. In fact, there are now more 30- to 33-year-old cars than the total number of classics of any age a decade ago.”
“This influx of young-timers is having a positive impact on the classic sector’s overall emissions, as they bring greater fuel efficiency and tighter emissions controls with them, helping to offset what would otherwise have been a doubling in the environmental footprint of our motoring heritage.”
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