Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

Special plates for cars older than 30 years
By Shahzad Sheikh

There was an important and significant announcement for vintage and classic car enthusiasts and collectors here in the UAE this morning – the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has teamed up with the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) to offer unique classic car registration and plates from this month.

From now on, if you own a classic car that is older than 30 years – so up to 1981 at present – you can get it uniquely registered as a classic car in Dubai.

The cars will only be registered after an initial inspection of the car and documentation to confirm its eligibility and then a more detailed hour-long inspection to check the status and condition of the car. All testing is done at a new facility run by the ATCUAE, staffed by technicians trained in Germany.

The ATCUAE is affiliated with the International Federation of Classic Vehicles (FIVA) – which provides global classification of vintage and classic cars. As part of the registration process owners will get certification from FIVA which in itself is likely to enhance the value of the vehicle.

Categories

If the car is accepted into registration it will be classified into one of six categories:

Category A – cars built between 1950-1981 will be registered to travel anywhere, but annual mileage will be limited to 10,000km. This is in order to limit emissions and pollution, as most older cars will not be as clean as modern automobiles, as well as encouraging safe driving. If an owner expects to exceed that mileage, they can register it through the normal process at RTA – although it will then be subject to the normal inspection and registration process for modern cars.

Category B – cars built before 1950 will be limited to 5000km.

Category C – cars in this category will not be allowed to travel on high-speed motorways or highways as they may be unable to attain or maintain higher speeds, or lack sufficient safety to do so.

Category D – cars can only be driven during daylight hours – primarily because they may not have sufficient lighting.

Category E – only to be driven on internal or service roads.

Category F – only for display and not allowed to be driven.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the RTA Licensing Agency, explained: ‘Classifying vehicles into categories is based on global standards and assessment mechanism that comprises different aspects namely – safety belts, type of fuel, and type of brakes.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the RTA Licensing Agency

Fees

The registration fee is the same as it is for modern cars – AED430 but the inspection fee is higher due to more detailed nature of the test at AED420. That’s a total of AED850 to get your classic registered.
The plates themselves will come in two shapes to fit in with the style and design of the classic car, and could also done as a sticker to go on the nose of the car as you might want to with cars such as the Jaguar E-Type or AC Cobra.

The inspections and registration will be carried out at a new dedicated facility run by ATCUAE in Al Qusais Industrial Area 3. Owners will be required to transport the cars to the inspection centre, although for an additional fee a collection service will also be offered through the Arabian Automobile Association (AAA). There’s also a mobile inspection unit which can go and carry out inspections for classic car collectors wishing to register five or more cars. Book your appointment by contacting Classic@ATCUAE.ae.

Don’t all come at once though – the RTA estimates that there are around 3000 cars of 30 years or older in the UAE, and possibly many more that sit unregistered and undriven in owner’s private collections.

More classics on the roads

Mohammed bin Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE, hopes that providing this new registration process for classic cars, will encourage owners to bring their cars back out onto the roads and for people to see at exhibitions. It’s taken four years to bring this programme to fruition: ‘The RTA and ATCUAE have invested a lot of time and resources in this project, and we are now looking forward to seeing some of these classic vehicles plying our roads today,’ he said.

‘Safety is the most important element to be assessed in these vehicles before allowing them to hit the road, and this is what will be guaranteed by the Technical Testing Centre.’

There will also be an opportunity to choose your plate number with an inaugural auction for classic car plates to be held on 7th June by the RTA. Over 60 plates will be offered, with the potential for more depending on demand – so if you really want to have 1959, you’d better get down there. Check their website for details.

Additional categories

This new registration process is available for original specification vintage or classic cars and motorbikes. However plans are already in place to initiate custom registration for other categories of cars including Competition cars, Modified cars, what they’ve termed ‘Kit Cars’ which would included vehicles such as resto-mods (older cars fitted with updated mechanicals or bodywork) including Hot Rods. These could be started within this year Bin Sulayem told us.

This of course could be a huge development for the car customisation and modification scene which is currently in a state of uncertainty and being pushed underground with crackdowns on modified cars having recently taken place in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

Should I buy and import that classic I’ve always wanted?

Yes and yes, but check with the ATCUAE first before you shell out a load of money. They car will still have to undergo the initial and then more detailed inspection, but if you go to the ATCUAE first to discuss the car you’re planning to bring in, you could have added reassurance, knowing whether it is or isn’t likely to get passed. They will also be able to register right-hand drive cars, as long as they meet the ‘classic and collectible’ car requirements.