12-plate registration rolls out this week

12-plate registration rolls out this week

This week motorists will see the 12-plate registration rolled out on all new cars as the industry faces the busiest month of the year.

Indeed, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), around 350,000 new cars are expected to be registered in March, worth a total of £5 billion, as consumers head out to pick up the latest new models and brand new registration plate.

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT, said that private motorists and business buyers purchase new cars during March to take advantage of "increasing levels of fuel efficiency, safety, comfort and practicality of today's vehicles".

The SMMT predicts that silver and blue-coloured cars will be the most popular in March and a digital radio will be the must-have option for buyers.

More than three-quarters of the new cars have a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating and average new car emissions are now 138g/km of CO2.

Registration plate change became bi-annual in 1999 and since then, March accounts for almost a fifth of the year's trade, even more than the traditional September plate change.

Posted by Sebastian Turkenburg