Classic car emissions revealed

A new study examining the carbon footprint of classic cars in the UK has found that average annual emissions are comparable to a roundtrip flight from London to New York.

The research also found that the total CO₂ emissions for all classic cars in the UK represents just 0.22% of the emissions from the entire UK transport sector.

The study, carried out by loop and drawing on years of data from official sources such as the DVLA and Department for Transport, also offered insights on the make-up of the country’s classic car sector, and how fuel efficiency and car use have changed over time.

Alex Kefford, loop’s technical writer and author of the report, said: “Assigning a figure to the carbon footprint of the UK’s classic cars has long been a challenge. By taking a data-first approach that included developing our own software, delving into decades of dusty archives, and crunching our way through millions of datapoints, we’ve been able to shed some light on this particularly tricky topic.

“Along the way we’ve discovered that the humble MGB is the most popular classic with Brits, that there are more classic Ford Escorts and Volkswagen Golfs declared as SORN as there are registered on our roads, and that average passenger car fuel economy has doubled since 1956.”

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