South East: 205,507 classic cars
South East is home to 205,507 classic cars, around 15% of the UK total. Of these, 56.9% are taxed and on the road, while 43.1% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: SO40 (Totton and the New Forest, 1,818), SL6 (Maidenhead, 1,695) and PO20 (Chichester, 1,694).
The South East isn’t just Britain’s biggest classic car region, it’s also where owners are most likely to actually drive them, with the lowest proportion off the road of any region. The New Forest and Solent belt leads the way, helped by mild weather, affluent villages and some of the country’s best touring roads. From the Hampshire coast to the Home Counties, this is classic car heartland.
South West: 192,959 classic cars
South West is home to 192,959 classic cars, around 14% of the UK total. Of these, 53.5% are taxed and on the road, while 46.5% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: TQ12 (Newton Abbot, 2,358), PL26 (St Austell, 2,022) and BH21 (Wimborne, 1,969).
The South West is classic car country in the truest sense, running from Devon and Cornwall through Dorset, Somerset and the Cotswolds. Newton Abbot in Devon is not only the region’s top district but one of the highest-ranking anywhere in the UK. Quiet lanes, coastal touring routes and a strong local car culture keep these vehicles cherished and, more often than not, on the road.
East of England: 177,929 classic cars
East of England is home to 177,929 classic cars, around 13% of the UK total. Of these, 54.5% are taxed and on the road, while 45.5% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: PE12 (Spalding, 2,905), CO10 (Sudbury, 2,497) and CM3 (rural Chelmsford, 2,288).
The East of England is home to the single biggest classic car postcode in the entire country: PE12, around Spalding in the Lincolnshire Fens, with 2,905 historic vehicles. There’s something about the flat, quiet, open roads of the Fens and rural Suffolk that suits classic motoring perfectly, and the region has a deep well of enthusiasts to match. It’s one of the great unsung classic car heartlands of Britain.
West Midlands: 132,235 classic cars
West Midlands is home to 132,235 classic cars, around 10% of the UK total. Of these, 51.6% are taxed and on the road, while 48.4% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: HR2 (Hereford, 2,097), WR11 (Evesham, 2,054) and SY5 (rural Shrewsbury, 1,792).
The West Midlands built Britain’s cars, but the data shows it’s the surrounding countryside, not the cities, that keeps them. Herefordshire and rural Worcestershire lead the region, well ahead of Birmingham and Coventry. It’s a fitting legacy for the home of the British motor industry: the factories may be quieter, but out in the countryside thousands of these cars are still going strong.
North West: 115,269 classic cars
North West is home to 115,269 classic cars, around 9% of the UK total. Of these, 49.3% are taxed and on the road, while 50.7% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: PR4 (Preston and the Fylde, 2,573), PR3 (rural Preston, 2,138) and CH7 (Mold, 1,634).
It’s Lancashire, not Manchester or Liverpool, that leads the North West. Preston’s rural fringe takes the top two spots, and PR4 is one of the biggest classic car postcodes in the whole country. The North West is also one of the regions where slightly more classics are stored than driven, reflecting the wetter climate and a strong culture of winter lay-ups and restoration projects.
Yorkshire & Humber: 109,447 classic cars
Yorkshire & Humber is home to 109,447 classic cars, around 8% of the UK total. Of these, 51.2% are taxed and on the road, while 48.8% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: DN14 (Goole, 2,088), YO25 (Driffield, 1,709) and DN22 (Retford, 1,553).
Yorkshire’s classic car crown doesn’t go to Leeds, Sheffield or York, but to Goole in the flat, quiet lanes of East Yorkshire. The areas around the Wolds are the county’s real classic car country — wide open roads and plenty of rural storage make it ideal territory for keeping an older car, whether for weekend runs or long-term projects.
East Midlands: 98,914 classic cars
East Midlands is home to 98,914 classic cars, around 7% of the UK total. Of these, 52.3% are taxed and on the road, while 47.7% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: LE67 (Coalville, 2,353), LE7 (rural Leicester, 2,321) and LE12 (rural Loughborough, 2,294).
The East Midlands punches above its weight, and Leicestershire in particular is a genuine stronghold — the county takes the region’s top three districts and has more high-ranking classic car postcodes than almost anywhere else in the country. Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire all add to a region where classic ownership is woven into rural life.
London: 83,326 classic cars
London is home to 83,326 classic cars, around 6% of the UK total. Of these, 54.2% are taxed and on the road, while 45.8% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: CR0 (Croydon, 1,131), WD3 (Rickmansworth, 1,019) and BR6 (Orpington, 750).
London’s classic cars aren’t where you might expect. It’s the outer suburbs — led by Croydon — that hold the capital’s classics, not the mews garages of the centre. Space is everything with a classic car, and the leafier edges of the city, with their driveways and garages, are where London quietly keeps its historic vehicles. Encouragingly, more than half are taxed and still being driven despite the challenges of city motoring.
Scotland: 82,928 classic cars
Scotland is home to 82,928 classic cars, around 6% of the UK total. Of these, 48.0% are taxed and on the road, while 52.0% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: AB51 (Inverurie, 1,541), PH2 (Perth, 1,219) and DD8 (Forfar, 1,166).
Aberdeenshire is Scotland’s classic car county, taking several of the top spots, with Perth, Forfar and Inverness close behind and even the islands represented. Scotland has one of the higher proportions of classics kept off the road, which fits a strong storage-and-restoration culture and a climate that rewards a winter lay-up. But the enthusiasm is clear, from the north east right out to the Hebrides.
Wales: 65,092 classic cars
Wales is home to 65,092 classic cars, around 5% of the UK total. Of these, 46.6% are taxed and on the road, while 53.4% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: SA62 (Haverfordwest, 1,519), NP7 (Abergavenny, 1,161) and LL53 (Pwllheli, 1,143).
Pembrokeshire tops the rankings in Wales, which has the highest proportion of classic cars declared off the road of any UK nation — the only one where more classics are stored than driven. West Wales in particular holds onto its classics for the long term, with many part-way through restoration or saved for the summer. It points to a patient, project-minded classic scene rather than a lack of passion.
North East: 41,456 classic cars
North East is home to 41,456 classic cars, around 3% of the UK total. Of these, 49.2% are taxed and on the road, while 50.8% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: DL8 (Leyburn and Wensleydale, 1,210), NE61 (Morpeth, 1,087) and DL13 (rural Bishop Auckland, 960).
The North East’s classic car heartland runs through the Dales and rural Durham, with Wensleydale’s DL8 leading the way ahead of Newcastle and Sunderland. These are areas with the space and the scenery classic ownership thrives on, and a fairly even split between cars that are driven and those kept in storage over the harder northern winters.
Northern Ireland: 38,913 classic cars
Northern Ireland is home to 38,913 classic cars, around 3% of the UK total. Of these, 47.2% are taxed and on the road, while 52.8% are declared off the road on a SORN.
Top districts: BT94 (Enniskillen, 2,095), BT23 (Newtownards, 1,297) and BT47 (rural Derry/Londonderry, 1,271).
Fermanagh leads Northern Ireland by a distance, and it does so in remarkable fashion: BT94 (Enniskillen) has more classic cars than any other NI postcode, yet more than eight in ten of them are off the road — the most extreme storage rate anywhere in the UK. Northern Ireland has the highest overall SORN rate of any nation, pointing to a deep restoration and collecting culture.
