On January 1, 2023, 793,589 motor vehicles (motor vehicles) and motor vehicle trailers with and without historic license plates (H license plates) - usually referred to as classic cars in German - were registered in Germany. This was an increase of +8.4 percent compared to the previous year.
There were increases in all vehicle classes. Double-digit growth was recorded for car trailers (+11.6%) and buses and coaches (+12.4%).
Passenger cars (704,269 vehicles) accounted for the largest share of classic cars at 88.7%, followed by trucks (4.8%/37,966 vehicles) and tractors (3.0%/24,076 vehicles).
When a classic car is a classic car
Vehicles and trailers that were first put on the road at least 30 years ago, are as close as possible to their original condition, are in a good state of preservation and are used to maintain the cultural heritage of motor vehicles may be designated as classic cars.
They can be recognized as classic cars with a corresponding certificate and identified as such with the H license plate introduced on 1 January 1997. The number of classic cars has risen continuously over the last ten years.
The KBA statistics show so-called classic cars as "vehicles with and without H license plates", which are identified as such in the Central Vehicle Register (ZFZR). The requirements are met if the vehicle owner submits the expert opinion to the registration authorities in accordance with Section 23 StVZO and either arranges for the emission class to be changed to the class specific to classic cars or applies for an H license plate and changes the emission class.
At least one of these specific identification features must be noted in the ZFZR in order to identify the vehicle as a classic car and to be able to show it in the statistics as "vehicles with and without an H license plate".
The characteristic relating to the allocation of an H license plate has been entered in the ZFZR since 2009; prior to this, identification of a classic car is only possible via the emissions class.
Further information can be found on the KBA website.