The British Classic car industry is worth an estimated £4 Billion to the UK economy today, and the recent resurgence of the British new car industry is worth an estimated £64 Billion. This ever-growing industry employs over 160,000 people directly, plus an estimated 770,000 people across the whole sector.*
(*Figures courtesy of The Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11529330/The-fall-and-rise-of-Britains-car-industry.html)
So why is Jaguar regarded as a classic British car?
Like Rolls Royce and Land Rover, Aston Martin and others, Jaguar have managed to remain in production, and continue to support both the new and classic car industry.
Ten years ago, the UK car industry was in crisis. Land Rover had just collapsed, Jaguar appeared unpromising, and the production of cars in the UK was set to drop below one million for the first time since the 1960s.
Luckily, the industry re-stablished itself and our favourite motoring names were kept alive. Rolls Royce have now gone from less than 1000 cars to over 4000 cars produced in a year, JLR have invested billions of pounds thanks to Tata, and Aston Martin have expanded and recently announced a new car plant in Wales. The resurgence of the car industry was dominated by high value cars, so naturally, Jaguar took the centre stage.
Even though new cars played a big part in the resurgence of the motoring industry, classic cars still held their own. According to research by the FBHVC (Federation of British Historic and Vehicle Clubs) in 2011, the classic car industry was worth an estimated £4 billion to the UK economy, and employed approximately 28,000 people*. (Source: *http://www.fbhvc.co.uk/research/)
From Jaguar’s point of view, this included clubs, suppliers (SNG Barrat/David Manners), events (Silverstone/Donnington), race series like our JEC Racing, tours, and restoration companies (XJ Restorations, David Marks).
Long-lasting appeal
Jaguar has maintained its long-lasting appeal because it is a fundamental part of what makes us British – it has become as recognisable as sausage and mash and fish and chips. Jaguar is a brand that has a worldwide appeal and we like to think of it as the plucky under dog that always punched above it weight. Jaguar continues to take on the larger car producers and stand out among them, proving how our British brand is here to stay.
This St George’s Day, take your Jaguars out for the day to celebrate this beautiful English car in the beautiful English countryside. Why not take a picture of you and your jag on your St George’s day drive and we could feature you on our Facebook page and website.
