DVLA's May 2024 auction was an online event that ran from Wednesday 8th to Tuesday 14th May.
As always, prices quoted in this report include fees and taxes.
Top performers
The highest price achieved at this latest auction was the £93,825 paid for 1 WLK. This was a substantial sum for a three-letter, digit-first number one.
In second place was 11 RM which made £55,305.
The number three spot was a little more intriguing. We suspect the new owner may intend 8055 G to be read as 'Boss G'. Whatever the motive, the number was worth £38,600 to the purchaser.
At number four, 911 FU sold for £32,180. Registrations containing 911 are frequently snapped up by Porsche owners. This one is notable for the FU letters it contains. This combination was previously suppressed by DVLA as being potentially offensive. Another FU combination, 2 FU, was the most expensive registration sold at the February 2024 auction.
At number five in May's chart was AST 30N. An excellent 'Aston' plate, this may have been bought for £30,267 by someone of that name, or by an Aston Martin owner.
Lost for words
There were not very many notable word plates this month. Some of those that did appear were as likely bought for their brevity and neat visual impact as for the random words they happened to resemble: 6 MUD, for example sold for £20,136.
Other possible word depictions included 11 UCK ('Luck' or 'Muck'?) at £18,069, ROC 111N ('Rockin' ?) at £14,820, CA24 VAN ('Caravan') at £14,474, 888 SKY ('Sky') at £12,946 and ROK 111T ('Rock it' or 'Rocket'?) at £12,419.
Names
Names were a little more evident. After the 'Aston' registration mentioned above, the best performance by a possible name plate was delivered by 488 AS ('Abbas'?) at £20,663. A44 MED ('Ahmed'?) sold for £18,326.
NAV 41D ('Navid') achieved £15,629. Lower down in the rankings was BB51 NGH, a good 'Singh' plate for £10,622.
Cars
We saw AST 30N and 911 FU earlier in this summary. Other apparent car references included 355 S (for a Ferrari 355 S?) at £16,772 and a number of the ever-popular '911' combinations: 911 PTS at £14,230, 911 GSB at £7,540 and 911 SOC at £4,831.
Others
Overall, buyers at this sale seemed more attracted to short registrations than to names or words. Several of those shorter numbers were number-ones, which never go out of fashion.
1 JXB at £24,489, 1 TKG at £21,921, 1 OPP at £19,353 and 1 HXJ at £17,684 are good examples. Even if they don't contain the buyer's initials, they still have that number-one appeal.
The trend for plates that give an impression of symmetry was nowhere to be seen. The closest thing to that style, or that of repeated characters was probably 8888 SO which sold for £4,510.
Top 50 sales
| Plate | Price * |
|---|---|
| 1 WLK | £93,825 |
| 11 RM | £55,305 |
| 8055 G | £38,600 |
| 911 FU | £32,180 |
| AST 30N | £30,267 |
| 891 M | £28,328 |
| RJS 111 | £25,965 |
| 1 JXB | £24,489 |
| 1 TKG | £21,921 |
| 212 X | £21,369 |
| 241 O | £20,663 |
| 488 AS | £20,663 |
| 6 MUD | £20,136 |
| 88 LAM | £19,353 |
| 1 OPP | £19,353 |
| A44 MED | £18,326 |
| 11 UCK | £18,069 |
| 1 HXJ | £17,684 |
| 666 SOS | £17,619 |
| 14 ASG | £17,619 |
| ESA 4H | £17,427 |
| 151 N | £17,427 |
| 31 OOO | £17,042 |
| 355 S | £16,772 |
| 68 JAS | £16,194 |
| SJP 111 | £15,681 |
| 247 AC | £15,655 |
| NAV 41D | £15,629 |
| ONB 41L | £15,514 |
| 115 HAN | £15,501 |
| 181 W | £15,501 |
| 440 P | £15,501 |
| 10 UKA | £15,244 |
| 18 MJS | £15,206 |
| 239 B | £14,872 |
| ROC 111N | £14,820 |
| CA24 VAN | £14,474 |
| 786 MHD | £14,409 |
| 911 PTS | £14,230 |
| 880 J | £14,230 |
| 123 KJ | £14,204 |
| 12 YN | £13,934 |
| 234 DC | £13,575 |
| 1985 A | £13,318 |
| VOS 5 | £13,087 |
| 4 MLB | £13,074 |
| 1 OGH | £12,946 |
| 888 SKY | £12,946 |
| HAY 5R | £12,933 |
| 841 LER | £12,933 |
* Prices include fees and taxes.
The stats
May's DVLA online auction comprised 2,000 lots, 1,989 of which were sold and 11 unsold. Purchasers spent a total of £6,562,210, delivering £6,143,316 to the Treasury.
The next DVLA timed online auction will take place from Wednesday 19th June to Tuesday 25th June 2024.
More great number plate auction information
The Regtransfers auction
Buy and sell with our number plate auction. You can see what is coming soon or jump in to the listings.
DVLA March 2024 Auction
Learn more about personal number plates that sold for great prices in the DVLA's previous auction.
