There was a time not so long ago when there were very few personalised registrations on Britain’s roads and when you did actually see one, it was usually attached to a very expensive and desirable motor vehicle at an exclusive location. That certainly isn’t the case nowadays however with personalised number plates hugely popular and found at all corners of the country.
Some of these private plates sell for many thousands of pounds, however many which can be seen on UK roads can cost far less than that with many running into hundreds of pounds as opposed to thousands.
The growth of personalised or ‘cherished’ number plates has been phenomenal in recent years and this has contributed to some plates enjoying soaring resale values. Indeed the amount of money raised from private plate sales by the DVLA has more than doubled over the past three years and this only accounts for those sales from the DVLA itself, this government body only selling new registrations which have never before been issued. Private sales continue to grow year-on-year and while we don’t know the exact figure in this sector, there is little doubt that the prospects look good for the years ahead.
How big has the growth rate actually been? One glance at the DVLA figures bear out the fact that private registration sales show no sign of slowing down any time soon.
2014/15 – £80,000,000
2015/16 – £97,000,000
2016/17 – £110,000,000
2017/18 – £162,000,000
There is no indication whatsoever that there will be any slow-down in the popularity of personalised number plates with the more exclusive options continuing to command huge prices. Indeed both private sellers and the DVLA report strong sales growth and we can expect to see more and more private registration numbers on UK roads in the years ahead.