Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC)

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About the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs was formed in 1988 and has over 500 member clubs looking after a diverse range of historic vehicles. These clubs are complemented by museum members, trade, and individual supporters. We look after all forms of mechanically propelled road transport including cars, motorcycles, buses and coaches, lorries and vans, military, agricultural, and steam vehicles, owned by more than 250,000 enthusiasts.

The Federation lobbies the government, their agencies DVLA and DVSA, and non-governmental agencies who influence the recognition of road transport as a fundamental aspect of our national heritage. We work closely with The All-Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Group and have excellent connections to both Houses of Parliament.

Research is a fundamental element of our work and we have conducted five-yearly research programmes since the late nineties. The work informs our discussions in Westminster and the latest survey released in late 2020 values the historic vehicle movement at £7.2bn and identifies 1,538,927 historic vehicles on the DVLA database.

Our interest in protecting the retention of craft skills to preserve, restore and maintain our vehicles led to the Federation creating in 2014 the only Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) accredited apprenticeship in Historic Vehicle Restoration. Over time we worked with government and industry representatives to create the Heritage Engineering Apprenticeship being taught at Bicester Heritage and Brooklands Museum. The time came when the best interests of these programmes would be served by a charitable trust and in 2020 the Federation Skills Trust, an entirely separate legal entity gained recognition by the Charities Commission.

With increasing environmental pressures and a need to maintain supplies of fuel for our vehicles, the Federation has a director responsible for environmental affairs and an automotive fuels expert. In order to fully embrace the heritage aspects of mechanically propelled road transport, the Federation is a proactive member of The Heritage Alliance and seeks to promote all aspects of mobile heritage.    Events such as Drive It Day which celebrates The One Thousand Mile Trial of 1900 when 65 cars drove from London to Edinburgh, returning to London nineteen days later to prove the viability of the motor car, and raise public awareness. This event performs a charitable purpose too raising funds for Childline®, an NSPCC charity (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).

Much more information about the work of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs is available to view at: https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/ and http://driveitday.co.uk/