Drivers have been warned that the price of petrol, diesel and electric cars could sharply increase after new number plates were identified at the start of the month.
The warning follows the rollout of the latest number plate changes, which introduced the new “25” identifiers on March 1 to reflect the latest models.
Now that drivers can purchase cars with the new plates, experts have warned of the impact this will have on both new and used vehicle prices.
Experts have warned that the latest update to number plates could lead to the prices of vehicles with new number plates increasing while the value of vehicles with older number plates could decrease.
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Number plates are changed every year in March and September
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Licence plates are changed twice a year, meaning drivers will see the next update in September, with the new “75” identifier.
Richard Evans, spokesperson for webuyanycar said: “New number plates can lead to the market price for many cars being pushed down. By monitoring the value of most car makes and models over time, we’ve seen that the industry average price of a vehicle usually falls when a new plate is released.
“However, our research has shown that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of drivers believe that new registration plates make secondhand cars more in demand.”
Evans added that while some drivers will be “un-phased” by this change, many car enthusiasts will be eager to get their hands on the new number plates.
Trends from previous years revealed that there tends to be a significant spike in car sales throughout March and September in anticipation of the new number plates.
In 2024, UK car sales in February and August were on average just 30 per cent of the car sales in March and September when the new number plates were released.
Evans warned that there is no fixed valuation decrease for vehicles as it depends on the age and model of the car, with vehicles capable of losing anywhere between 15 and 35 per cent of their initial value in the first year alone, with this number rising to 50 per cent after three years.
Meanwhile, Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealership Association, stated: “With the upcoming ’25’ number plate change, NFDA offers essential guidance and outlines key steps for consumers purchasing new vehicles.”
The number plate system currently used in the UK has been in place since 2001, with it operating as the first two letters being the memory tag indicating the location where the car is registered, followed by other important details.
Robinson explained that if a car registered in the London region, for example, it would have “L” as the first letter, followed by any letter ranging between A to Y.
The next two digits reflect the six-month period when the car was registered, while three letters at the end are randomly assigned. This applies to all letters except I and Q, which have been excluded to avoid confusion with the numbers 1 and 0.
Sam Sheehan, motoring editor at cinch, shared: “Every new plate launch comes with a full list of banned combinations to stop offensive or inappropriate registrations from hitting the roads.
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Number plate changes can cause older cars to lose up to 35 per cent of their value
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“It’s very important to stay up to date about number plate rules. Not only is it about staying safe on the road, you could land yourself a fine if you don’t comply. From design to visibility, there might be some surprising rules drivers don’t know about.”
