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​The market for heritage vehicles in the UK is growing across nearly every segment. At the end of 2023, nearly 340,000 vehicles over 40 years old were registered in the UK, of which around one in eight have been declared off the road by their owners.  
In 2020, around 1.5 million cars on UK roads were over 30 years old, Tim noted, representing one in 22 cars. By 2025, that figure is forecast to reach 2 million, outpacing the forecast number of 1.3 million electric and hybrid vehicles by some distance.
The number of classic car owners is also increasing, Tim continued, from around 500,000 in 2016 to more than 700,000 today, with many thousands more expressing a desire to be involved with heritage vehicles. The value of the classic car market to the UK economy has similarly risen from £5.5bn in 2016 to £7.2bn.
On the subject of EVs, Tim said the place for classic cars in today’s sustainability-focused world was only getting stronger.
“It's significantly less carbon-intensive to continue using existing vehicles than manufacture new ones,” he noted. “A typical classic car emits substantially less CO² per annum than your mobile phone or laptop.”
The average classic vehicle in the UK emits 563kg of CO² and is driven an average of 1,200 per year, according to a study by UK insurer Footman James. While modern vehicles have significantly less CO² emissions per mile, they are driven far more regularly and already come with a sizeable carbon footprint straight off the production line.

​No single company can be an expert in or offer everything. By leveraging the strengths of others, companies can fill gaps, broaden offerings and better serve customers.Manufacturers often have specific areas of expertise or focus, and attempting to cover every possible aspect of a market or industry is often impractical or inefficient. Many have turned to the power of collaboration, working with complementary businesses or forming strategic alliances to enhance their competitive advantage and accelerate business growth.
Partnerships allow companies to leverage the expertise, resources and capabilities of others to plug knowledge gaps, expand product and service portfolios, and achieve greater overall success.
Take Motaclan, for example. The Birmingham company specialises in the sourcing, manufacture and distribution of classic car parts for the trade and consumer. For almost 40 years, Motaclan has been supplying high-quality original equipment parts for iconic marques such as TVR, MG Rover, Classic Mini, Jaguar, Lotus and Ford, among others.
Whether enthusiasts are restoring vintage beauties or maintaining cherished classics, Motaclan provides a diverse range of high-quality parts and accessories to keep pieces of automotive history on the road.
However, doing so isn’t without its challenges. Despite manufacturing many spares itself using original tooling, and boasting a purpose-built distribution centre stocked with more than 500,000 lines, sourcing parts for a model that last rolled off production lines almost 60 years ago has never been tougher.
That’s where Motaclan’s active partnership programme pays dividends, helping it meet the needs of global customers both large and small.