Oldtimer and Classic Car Market Characterised by Stable Growthn

For years, the oldtimer and classic car scene has been marked by stable rates of increase and growth, in part even in the lower double-figure range. The rises are just as stable as the oldtimers which are a testimony to high-grade workmanship, quality, sustainability and reliability.

• Over Euro 16 billion is turned over in the field of historic vehicles every year in the EU - over Euro 5.5 billion in Germany.
• More than 9,000 EU companies obtain their earnings via services and products in the oldtimer sector - There are almost 2,300 companies and self-employed people in Germany.
• In Germany, around Euro 275 million per year is turned over in the field of private sales of oldtimers.

Last year (2007), the number of cars which were over 30 years' old and were permanently licensed for traffic already passed the 300,000 threshold for the first time: On January 1, 2007, the Federal Office for Motor Traffic (KBA) in Flensburg registered 305,322 of these passenger cars. They are officially regarded as oldtimers and are entitled to bear the H registration plate. Compared with the preceding year (2006), that corresponds to an increase of 18,633 oldies - or 6.5 percent. The number of at least 20-year-old cars rose even more strongly. These are the so-called youngtimers whose number passed the one million boundary for the first time in 2007: KBA counted exactly 1,053,453 youngtimers in January 2007. Compared with the 983,162 automobiles in their twenties in 2006, that corresponds to a rate of increase of around 7.5 percent.