13 Registration Plates
THE 13-plate, regarded by some as unlucky, has outsold the past nine registration plates, according to new industry research.
As the new 63-plate come into effect, the 13-plate has, up until the end of July, overtaken all previous plates dating back to September 2008.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the 13-plate has been registered to 1,115,459 vehicles since it came into use in March this year and even with the August registrations still to be included, it has outsold the previous plate changes dating back over the last five years.
New 63-plate vehicles are being readied and manufacturer main dealers are bracing themselves for new vehicle deliveries that could see around 390,000 new cars on the road over the 30 days of September.
"We have seen a strong performance from the new car market throughout 2013, with the number of cars registered increasing in July for the 17th successive month," said Mike Baunton, SMMT interim chief executive.
"Now we have evidence of consistent growth, we have raised our forecast for 2013 new car registrations to 2.216 million units, an increase of over eight per cent on last year.
"In line with this positive trend, we expect the new 63 plate to be very successful and for September registrations to provide a similar peak to that seen in March."
