More Britons are personalizing their car number plates than ever before, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). In the past year, the Treasury made a record total of \u00a3102 million \u2014 \u00a315 million more than 2014-2015 from an estimated 335,000 registration plates purchased by drivers in the U.K.<\/p>\n
The DVLA started selling personalised number plates in 1990, with just 77,745 purchased between 1995-96 \u2014 four times less than today. At present, the DVLA boasts 47 million plates on offer to drivers across the country, which can be bought online or at auctions.<\/p>\n
The DVLA says almost 335,000 registrations were sold in the last year – more than four times the figure in the mid-Nineties.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the AA welcomed the news, saying: “It puts a smile on people’s faces and raises money for the exchequer – what’s there to complain about?<\/p>\n
“Once you’ve bagged that number plate – if it’s a good one it adds value to it. Some are iconic and will be sought after. Some of the best are simple but exquisite.”<\/p>\n
The biggest went for \u00a3180,000 in May last year – for KR15 HNA – which was a new British record for the most expensive current style personalised registration plate.<\/p>\n
Today, plates with just one number and two letters cost an estimated \u00a360,000, 20 times more than the early 1990s, when drivers could expect to pay somewhere between \u00a33,000 to \u00a35,000.<\/p>\n
A DVLA spokesman said: \u201cMany people enjoy displaying a personalised registration number and the general sale and auctions remain extremely popular with the public.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n
\u201cSince we began selling personalised registrations we have raised around \u00a32.3 billion and all the money raised is passed to the Treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More Britons are personalizing their car number plates than ever before, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). In the past year, the Treasury made a record total of \u00a3102 million \u2014 \u00a315 million more than 2014-2015 from<\/p>\n