September registration plate change losing impact
New research has revealed that 70% of dealers believe the September registration plate change is less important than it used to be.
Analysis carried out by Startline Motor Finance also found that 53% of dealers believe people care less about driving on the latest plate, and 31% think most don’t even know the newest plate number.
Meanwhile, the number of customers who want the latest plate has fallen to just 18%.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Plate changes have traditionally been a big deal for the motor industry. However, it does feel as though there has been a gradual shift over time. This might be traced back as far as the introduction of the twice annual change in 2001, but it does feel as though there has been an acceleration in recent years.
“Probably the most likely explanation is that generally, all used cars are now older thanks to production shortages during the pandemic, so buyers have simply become accustomed to caring less about the age of their vehicle.
“It’s also interesting that a sizeable minority – slightly less than one in five – still think the plate change has an impact, so there are clearly dealers who see a shift in trading patterns every March and September.”
