New study finds New Zealand is hiding over $11b worth of classic cars

A new survey has found that New Zealand is home to a proper treasure trove of classic and historic cars.

The research, undertaken between June and July by Glasshouse Consulting at the request of the NZ Federation of Motoring Clubs (FoMC), found that – brace for this – the total economic footprint of the historic and classic vehicle sector is a staggering $11 billion.

It comprised seven separate sector surveys completed online by 15,500 respondents. These included motor vehicle clubs, individual club members, automotive museums, owners of private collections, businesses serving the sector, along with a random sample of the public.

Garry Jackson, FoMC President said: “with no such research ever undertaken previously, there was no prior expectation of the total value that could be put on NZ’s love affair with these special vehicles.”

“The FoMC was inspired to undertake this survey by our UK counterpart, who has done several such surveys which have provided really valuable information on the importance of the historic and classic vehicle sector to that country’s people and economy.”

That $11 billion figure is made up of some 279,200 classic and historic vehicles in New Zealand, and includes all their expenses covering insurance, garaging, servicing, restoration, and presentation.

Interestingly, the FoMC says the number of employees across the supporting trades and services for these cars is estimated at 5700, or more than the total number of dentists and opticians in NZ combined.

As for the cars themselves, the Federation puts the average value at just over $43,000 per car, $20,900 per vintage truck and tractor, and $12,000 per historic and classic motorcycle. Annual expenses per classic car was just under $10,000. However, this only applies to those part of the Federation of Motoring Clubs.

The average annual spend per car, including insurance, running costs and servicing, was found to be $9302, while the total estimated annual spend across historic and classic sectors was rated at $1.03 billion.

This love for classics doesn’t seem to be diminishing as time goes on either. Just over 70% of Kiwis said they see historic and classic vehicles as part of NZ’s heritage, with 26% revealing that they would love to own one.

As much was confirmed in the recent Webb’s August auction, which saw a selection of gorgeous machinery from the late as the 1990s go under the hammer for big money. A 1990 BMW M3 Sport Evolution sold for $297,000, while a Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo from the same year was rated to sell at as much as $250,000, but didn’t find a buyer.