Vintage vehicle listings see robust growth on online platform OLX

Even as the auto industry is making rapid advancements in modern technology, vintage cars seem to be retaining their charm among true-blue automotive aficionados. Corroborating the same, online classifieds platform OLX has reported a strong showing of vintage vehicles on its portal.

The company has announced that vintage car listings on its portal doubled in 2019 compared to the numbers two years ago. Over 4,000 vintage bikes were put up for sale on the website last year. OLX reports a strong interest in the category to be evident from the 8,00,000 views and 10,00,000 views per month in 2019 for vintage car and bike listings, respectively.

Though the popularity of these automotive gems is arguably on the rise, it cannot be attributed to just a spurt in interest from enthusiasts. The surging demand also stems from the fact that classic cars are safe investments. Their simple mechanicals are easy to fix and keep them running for many years, unlike modern cars with complex electronics. This permits the vehicles to hold on to their value well, which has given a fillip to car collection as a hobby, which has traditionally been a niche one.

The advent of online classifieds has also benefitted buyers and sellers alike by providing a standard nationwide platform built on the ‘One country, One price’ philosophy. This has helped stabilise prices across cities and improve the experience of trading in vintage vehicles.  

Expressing his thoughts on the traction of vintage car listings on OLX, Sunny Kataria, vice president, Auto, OLX Group, said, “Vintage car/bike ownership is still nascent but owing to increased discoverability, a steady stream of unique inventory on OLX and high liquidity, the demand for vintage cars/bikes is expected to double in 2020. Increasingly, these automobiles have also been recognised as an indispensable part of India’s rich automobile history and cultural legacy stemming from India’s past as an erstwhile collection of princely states.”

On the flip side, fake listings with inaccurate information and false claims remain something of a concern. Consequently, buyers need to exercise caution while making purchases through such web portals.

Analysing their online data, OLX has revealed that majority of demand for vintage models can be seen in cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore and Kochi. Vintage cars are found to have takers in Ooty and Jaipur as well, with vintage bikes showing strong demand in Hyderabad.

A 1930 Russian jeep, 1959 Standard Vanguard, a 1940 American military Dodge Weapon Carrier from the World War-II era, a 1948 Hillman Minx Drophead Coupe Convertible and an Austin 8 from the same year are some of the vintage cars that can be found on OLX. Their online collection of vintage two-wheelers includes the likes of a 1932 Velocette, 1953 BSA two-stroke Bantam, 1938 BSA C-10 and a Lambretta 48 from 1949.

Highly exquisite models on the website come with proportional price tags as well. The most expensive car listed is a 1935 Rolls-Royce 20/25 that wears a sticker price of Rs 2 crore, while the title of the most expensive vintage bike listed is reserved for a 1939 Villers Antique, which carries an asking price of Rs 18 lakh.  

Also see:

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