The DVLA's May 2023 auction was an online event which ran from Wednesday 10th May until Tuesday 16th May 2023.
Cream of the crop
After a relatively quiet sale last time, the chart-topping prices at this most recent auction were somewhat higher. The best performer was 5 PS, a very nice number that achieved an all-in price of £93,825. It was a surprise to see 5 PS in this sale as all the other single-digit PS registrations were sold at DVLA auctions in the 1990s.
With the exception of 1 PS, which sold for £22,000 in 1995, the single-digit PS registrations in those earlier auction sales sold for less than £7000 each. That's a pretty clear indication of how much the value of these plates has increased during that time.
In second place was 82 O at £89,960, which beat the £54,021 paid for 197 O at the March/April online auction, and the £75,194 achieved by 46 O at February's live venue event.
Despite that good showing, 82 O couldn't quite win the day and thus it marked the end of the winning streak of O numbers that had topped the six previous auctions. That said, we wouldn't be surprised to see them fight back at future sales.
Names, words and guessing games
There are a few occasions when a name or word is spelt out so clearly that there is little room for doubt that it was the buyer's reason for parting with their money. There are far more instances where we simply have to make educated guesses. This auction contained more of the latter than the former.
41 OVE (£48,243) may have appealed to someone with a romantic inclination as 'for love'. Alternatively, it would be the perfect plate for a Mr or Ms A Love. 180 Y (£47,665) is a bit less obvious. All we can see there is '1 Boy' but it made a good price, so perhaps we're missing something. 4 SUV (£40,012) could be a reference to a sports utility vehicle. A good plate for a 4x4 dealership? MSS 13 (£27,121) would be a good plate for a Miss B, while JOD 11C (£21,343) works nicely for Jodi C, although the price seems a little higher than we'd have expected. GEO 69E (£10,814) may have been bought by a George and CHR 41S (£10,288) by a Chris.
Themes
We noticed a few plates that seemed to share certain things in common. This most recent sale included a number of 'Singh' registrations: MR21 NGH (£20,123) and ED51 NGH (£11,097) were pretty good representations, especially if your name is Ed Singh. 657 NGH (£11,007) is perhaps not as immediately obvious at a glance but still easily recognisable.
A couple of plates may have appealed to bidders of Chinese heritage. 28 AU (£15,270) could prove lucky for someone with the Chinese name Au, while 75 LAM (£15,591) would be a good fit for the name Lam, which is predominantly Vietnamese but also has Chinese versions. It could also be a way to spell 'Islam' on a number plate.
BON 7D was a decent 'Bond' plate at £12,394, while BMT 216E (£12,933) would probably be less obvious to all but the most devoted 007 fans. For those who need some help with that one, the Aston Martin driven by Bond in the 1964 movie Goldfinger, and in the following year's Thunderball, displayed the registration BMT 216A. As we pointed out in an earlier DVLA Auction report, BMT 216D sold in the DVLA's September 2022 auction for £24,553.
If you'd like to know a bit more about James Bond's cars and registrations, see our comprehensive article on the subject.
In total, this auction saw 2472 sales and 28 numbers that went unsold. Buyers parted with a total of £7,658,095, of which £7,170,036 went to DVLA/government.
The next DVLA auction will be a live venue event and will run from Wednesday 21st June to Friday 23rd June 2023.
| Plate | Price * |
|---|---|
| 5 PS | £93,825 |
| 82 O | £89,960 |
| 41 OVE | £48,243 |
| 180 Y | £47,665 |
| 4 SUV | £40,012 |
| 8888 A | £28,341 |
| MSS 13 | £27,121 |
| 96 OO | £27,044 |
| 1 TKH | £23,076 |
| 911 WAX | £21,908 |
| JOD 11C | £21,343 |
| 1805 S | £20,791 |
| 251 A | £20,675 |
| 450 J | £20,637 |
| MR21 NGH | £20,123 |
| 28 AU | £19,687 |
| 750 X | £19,674 |
| HUE 16G | £18,197 |
| 1 MXL | £18,069 |
| 170 C | £18,069 |
| YAS 7R | £17,427 |
| RAJ 14N | £17,427 |
| 24 YNK | £17,042 |
| NSS 111 | £16,990 |
| 1 PYH | £16,785 |
| 5 GCL | £16,785 |
| 6 TSM | £16,772 |
| 95 UH | £16,271 |
| 75 LAM | £15,591 |
| 47 UK | £15,578 |
| URU 5P | £15,501 |
| 88 YN | £15,501 |
| 210 T | £15,501 |
| 627 M | £15,501 |
| ARC 21E | £15,501 |
| 5 SSL | £14,859 |
| IG 35 | £14,859 |
| 330 B | £14,859 |
| 105 ER | £14,589 |
| 1 OGU | £14,448 |
| 777 RAJ | £14,243 |
| 600 RM | £14,217 |
| 110 AJ | £14,217 |
| 13 MDW | £14,204 |
| 18 HAD | £13,575 |
| 7 FFS | £13,318 |
| 7 TJS | £13,087 |
| SHA 2S | £12,997 |
| ELL 14E | £12,971 |
| 44 ANT | £12,946 |
* Prices include fees and taxes.
More great number plate auction information
The Regtransfers auction
Buy or Sell using our own terrific auction service. View our current listings or learn more about the auction.
DVLA March/April 2023 Auction
Learn more about personal number plates that sold for great prices in the DVLA's previous auction.
