Heritage vehicle register

The purpose of the heritage vehicle register is to ensure the preservation and proper restoration of vehicles classified as significant to the history of Finnish road transport. This is done by recognising the work done to preserve the Finnish vehicle heritage; by rewarding and giving pleasure to people who want to preserve heritage vehicles in Finland; by providing guidance, advice, and experience on how to preserve the heritage value of vehicles; by raising awareness of Finland’s vehicle history; and by providing financial support for the preservation of heritage vehicles.

The register is maintained by Mobilia in cooperation with the Finnish Heritage Agency and vehicle history associations. The decision to register a vehicle is taken by Mobilia on the basis of a proposal from the expert committee. The expert committee includes representatives of hobby organisations and authorities.

Vehicles in the register record the material heritage of road transport. They complement the national museum collection in the sector in terms of quantity, quality, and experience. This creates a hierarchical system from the point of view of the information value of recording, in which the “national collection” assembled in the national responsibility museum of road transport represents the museum level. The heritage vehicle register is a nationwide collection, compiled on museum principles, that is mobile and provides experiences. Other recreational and museum vehicles are an exciting selection of vehicles both used and newly produced in Finland. Today, the preservation of material tradition is at the mercy of “material addiction”. The heritage vehicle register directs people to preserve end-of-life vehicles directly from circulation. The register is a pre-established system that allows the museological objective of preservation to be achieved, but the accumulation is manageable.