May 2025

by Robin Astle.

From HISTORIC, the FBHVC magazine Issue 5

DVLA by Ian Edmunds

For the sake of completeness, I will start for this edition with an update on the Cabinet Office review of DVLA, although our press schedules unfortunately dictate that this is by now rather old news! In my last statement on this topic I said that we understood the report was completed but that it required the agreement of the then new Secretary of State before it could be published. That agreement was obtained from Louise Haigh shortly before she stepped down and on the eve of the Classic Motor Show last November the report appeared.

Given that matters relating to historic vehicles are a very small part of the activities of DVLA we consider the report fully recognises our concerns and provides as much as we could hope for, summed up in this section:

However, the review went further in assessing the experience of customers with more complex requirements and needs finding far lower levels of satisfaction, including from those with complex or changing medical conditions, from fleet hire companies and special interest groups representing sectors such as historic vehicles. DVLA must ensure:

1. All stakeholders have a genuine opportunity to engage, raise issues and review progress on actions being taken to address them.
2. A more innovative and focussed approach to service improvements.

The full report can be found on the Government website using this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvla-review-published-to-strengthen-agency-for-the-future.

On the subject of independent reviews, we understand, as a matter of interest, that the corresponding report on DVSA has not yet been completed.

Readers with long memories may recall that around Christmas 2022 I was referring to hopes of a possible ‘Christmas present’ from DVLA. In practice this took the form of the announcement early in 2023 of a total review of vehicle licensing policy for the future. My comment at the time was that we had received a ‘present’ but were yet to see what was hidden within the pretty packaging. Well, now we know, or at least we have had a first glimpse. In my opinion it has been well worth the wait!

A Historic Vehicle User Group meeting was held in Swansea in December and Federation Chairman David Whale and I attended in person. All the key DVLA Policy people were present, and we were very impressed by the positive approach shown by them all. The sole purpose of the meeting was for DVLA to convey their initial proposals following this long period of work culminating in the Call for Evidence issued last year. It was apparent that our points made over a long period had been heard, even if not acknowledged at the time.

In presenting their proposals DVLA wished to stress that this is all still work in progress and requested that the full details are not shared at this point.

The key objectives are a simplification of the registration procedures and the retention of the original registration wherever possible, or, if it is not known, the issue of an age-related registration. The suggestions are:

• A new category likely to be called ‘Repaired’ which will cover all normal repair, replacement and restoration activities. The original registration will be retained or an age-related registration issued.
• A second new category likely to be called ‘Modified’ and defined as a change of shape or dimensions of a vehicle, for example a coupé converted to a convertible. A DVLA VIN will be issued and the original registration retained or an age-related registration issued. Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) will be required.
• The current ‘Reconstructed Classic’ category will continue but probably somewhat simplified. Club involvement in validating the vehicle is likely to continue.
• A very satisfactory solution is proposed to the long-standing problem of establishing the final manufacture date for vehicles supplied in CKD [completely knocked down] form.

Despite these intentions DVLA note that it is likely that there will always be a small number of awkward cases where the issue of a Q registration is unavoidable.

The Federation expressed satisfaction with these proposals but raised two concerns, both in the meeting and in a written response later. The first of these was that the wording used by DVLA left some doubt concerning newly constructed bodies on vehicles with a chassis. FBHVC have requested that any ‘period typical’ (in terms of style, method of construction and materials used) body should be accepted without prejudice to the identity or registration of the vehicle.

The second concern is more difficult. DVLA consider that any vehicle classified as ‘modified’ should be required to undergo some form of technical inspection before being allowed back into circulation. The Federation supports that position, but the difficulty arises because DVLA do not have the Regulatory power to mandate a MoT on a 40+ year old vehicle. The only alternative available to them is IVA. FBHVC have stressed that IVA is the wrong tool and as it requires modern vehicle technical standards is unattainable by many historic vehicles.

Despite the two issues noted above it was felt that the proposals put forward were constructive and helpful, supported by the extremely positive approach shown in the meeting. David observed as we left that the meeting ‘had exceeded his expectations’.

As always, further details will be shared as soon as we are able.

The final topic for this edition follows a heart-felt plea from a member club with regard to what appears to be a growing practice with some of the auction houses. As we are all very aware historic vehicles for many reasons are not always accompanied by all the requisite documents. This simple and unavoidable fact is no less true of high value vehicles nor of those offered for sale by the auction houses. Apparently, there is a growing trend for vehicle sale descriptions to note this sparsity of paperwork and to state that the appropriate specialist club will be able to resolve any issues for the prospective purchaser.

If or when a resolution proves impossible, the new vehicle owner then tends to place the blame with the club.

Whilst details will differ from case to case there is a certain minimum of information and evidence without which DVLA are not able to register a vehicle. That is not DVLA being difficult, they are given certain criteria which they have to meet, and neither is it the fault of any club trying to the best of their ability to assist.

The Federation has been asked if it can assist with this matter and the unfortunate truth is that we can’t directly. We obviously have no jurisdiction over the auction houses and indeed only three choose to be Federation Trade Supporters. Fundamentally, as with other aspects of a vehicle and its condition, it has to be a case of caveat emptor (buyer beware). If a vehicle does not have a valid V5C some enquiries prior to the sale might be prudent. First and foremost, does the vehicle have a clear legible chassis number/frame number/VIN (as appropriate)? Do adequate records survive to provide evidence of date of manufacture?

Absence of this information is not necessarily a reason for not buying but the prospective purchaser should be aware that registration my prove difficult or even impossible and if that does prove to be the case it is not necessarily the fault of those attempting to assist.

Fuels by Nigel Elliott

The path to net zero?

Since my presentation “Solving the Fuels Challenge Now and in the Future” at the 2024 FBHVC Club Expo we have had a change of Government and a renewed enthusiasm for meeting early compliance with net zero targets. The previous Conservative Government was starting to realise the difficulty and high cost in meeting the net zero target and had deferred the end of internal combustion engine vehicles to 2035, in line with the rest of Europe.

The new Labour Government is currently consulting on returning to the 2030 date. This consultation seeks views on delivering the commitment to end the sale of new cars powered solely by internal combustion engines by 2030 and supporting the UK’s transition to zero emissions vehicles.

The consultation is split into 2 parts and closes on the 18 February 2025:

Part 1 is about phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and supporting zero emission transition. It is conducted solely by the UK government and seeks views on:

• Options to end the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2030.
• Potential requirements for new non-zero emission vans to be sold from 2030 to 2035.
• Consideration of approach for small volume manufacturers.
• Demand measures to support the uptake of zero emission vehicles.

Part 2 of this consultation is about the ZEV Mandate, delivered through the vehicle emissions trading schemes (VETs). It is conducted by the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department for Infrastructure (NI) and seeks views on:

• The existing flexibilities within the ZEV mandate, and consideration of further flexibilities.
• Other technical updates to the ZEV mandate to ensure its efficiency.
• Evidence from Part 2 of the consultation will inform potential future amendments to the ZEV mandate and CO2 emissions regulation..

With respect to home heating, the Government appears to be back tracking on a gas and oil boiler ban in 2035 but is considering very stringent high energy efficiency requirements that will make fitting gas and oil boilers to new builds very difficult and will have an emphasis on installing low-carbon heating alternatives instead, such as air source/ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers.

Electric Vehicle and heat pump mandates will put a huge demand on the UK National Grid and in recent weeks the grid has come very close to enforcing power cuts at peak times during the evening on very cold days, with little wind and no solar power available. As I am writing this article in the early afternoon, I checked the current situation on the National Grid and found the following breakdown of power generation:

These weather conditions are not unusual during the winter where there can be several days in a row of high pressure causing low wind. When this happens the importance of backup power generation for intermittent renewables is highlighted. Contrary to what many politicians say, wind and solar power is not cheap, it is actually very expensive as backup generation is required to cope with the intermittent nature. Battery storage has been proposed but it is very expensive and cannot provide reliable backup power for any useful amount of time. The world’s largest batteries would only support the UK grid for a matter of minutes rather than the days or even weeks required during these high pressure, low wind periods. Hydrogen is frequently proposed as a back-up energy source, but producing hydrogen from renewable power via hydrolysis is very inefficient and would require very high levels of investment to be a reliable backup energy source with the necessary infrastructure.

There continues to be a massive difference between net zero ambitions and commercial and scientific reality. This will be further stressed by the Donald Trump presidency in the USA where he has quickly cancelled the various renewable energy and EV mandates and is actively promoting an increase in fossil fuel production. I suspect the UK Government will have to back track on the current net zero plans as industry and consumers continue to struggle with high energy costs and stagnating growth or even recession. Personally, I think it would be better to stick to sound science and stop the market distorting subsidies for renewable energy and let the market sort out the best ways to reduce CO2 emissions going forward, as it is always dangerous to pick winners. This approach would result in energy security with a diverse energy mix, with nuclear for baseload and wind and solar where it is cost effective and natural gas as a back-up.

In terms of road fuels, increased ethanol and biodiesel contents are possible with existing hardware. However, there is a limit to feedstock availability and issues with competition with food and indirect land use change that will limit their volumes. In terms of e-fuels the technology exists and works and produces good quality fuels that are compatible with all vehicles. The problem is that they require high levels of renewable energy and suffer from the hydrogen production hydrolysis efficiency issues mentioned earlier in this article. Of course, as fossil fuel feedstock depletes in the future there will be more focus and development of alternatives, such as e-fuels, as liquid fuels will always have an energy density benefit over batteries and have the benefit of an existing distribution system. I suspect the internal combustion engine and gas turbines will be around for a long time yet.