By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
The DVLA has brought in nearly £1.2 billion from the sale of private number plates in the last five years.
Figures show this covers 2,613,830 transactions since 2020.
Plates can be picked up for less than £100, but more coveted letter and number combinations can sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
It seems that private plates are increasingly seen as lucrative investments with some selling for more than the value of the cars they’ve been bought for!
Lockdown brought a particular surge in sales as owners looked for a nice return and were attracted by the buzz of displaying a personalised plate.
According to a BBC Freedom of Information request the number of private plates being put on cars for the first time nearly doubled since 2014, whilst transactions involving used plates tripled to about 800,000.
Registration plates can be bought directly from the DVLA or privately such as through online auction sites and social media.
A DVLA spokesperson said: “Many people enjoy displaying a personalised registration and there are millions of plates available on our website to suit all tastes and budgets.”
For more information go to https://dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk/
Perhaps this is because people are driving older cars and disguising it with a private number.