Private number plates most popular in Scotland

Where in the UK will you find the largest number of personalised registration plates? According to one insurance company’s research, the answer is… Scotland.

After analysing 3.5 million cars, elephant.co.uk has come up with the top 10 postcodes in the UK for private plates – and eight of them are in Scotland. Kilmacolm in Inverclyde ranks top of all, with 14 per cent of cars there sporting the personal look, compared to a national average of just 4 per cent.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, where there are private plates there are also posh cars – every single vehicle in the top 10 most likely to be disguising their age is a prestige motor.

The Bentley Continental is most likely private plater of all (some 36.24 per cent of all examples checked), while the humble Suzuki Liana is the least likely (0.30 per cent). Similarly, top money jobs go hand in hand with this kind of extra motoring expense, with commercial company Chairmen particularly taken by the idea.

The top and bottom rankings for location, car and occupation are listed below.

Top 20 postcode districts

Position – Postcode – District - %age of personalised number plates

1st - PA13 – Kilmacolm, Inverclyde – 13.73

2nd - BH13 – Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset – 12.64

3rd - G77 – Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire – 12.16

4th - PA18 – Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde – 11.65

5th - AB15 – Aberdeen – Bieldside, Craigiebuckler, Cults, Hazlehead, Kingswells, Mannofield, Milltimber – 11.36

6th - HU14 – North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire – 10.86

7th - PA11 – Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire – 10.62

8th - KA23 – West Kilbride, Ayrshire – 10.20

9th - AB34 – Aboyne, Aberdeenshire-9.84

10th - AB13 – Milltimber, Aberdeen – 9.72

11th - NE20 – Ponteland, Northumberland – 9.67

12th - PH3 – Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross – 9.50

13th - WD7 – Radlett, Hertfordshire – 9.27

14th - G71 – Bothwell, South Lanarkshire – 9.26

15th - DD1 – Dundee City Centre – 9.19

16th - LL17 – St Asaph, Denbighshire – 9.12

17th - B94 – Solihull, West Midlands – 9.06

18th - AB42 – Peterhead, Aberdeenshire – 8.92

19th - WR8 – Worcester – 8.90

20th - KA30 – Largs, North Ayrshire – 8.82

Top 20 Occupations

Position – Occupation - %age of personalised number plates

1st - Chairman (Commercial) – 16.00

2nd - Director of a Bank – 11.56

3rd - Property Developer – 11.29

4th - Surgeon (Dental) – 10.87

5th - Company Director – 10.77

6th - Restaurant Owner – 10.59

7th - Property Dealer – 10.58

8th - Haulage Contractor – 10.24

9th - Chartered Architect – 10.04

10th - Property Landlord – 9.97

11th - GuestHouse Manager (unlicensed) – 9.86

12th - Hotel Proprietor – 9.84

13th - Company Secretary – 9.16

14th - Inspector (Police/fire) – 9.16

15th - Shop Proprietor/Owner – 8.94

16th - Licencee – 8.93

17th - Furniture (Dealer) – 8.84

18th - Sub-postmaster – 8.66

19th - Jeweller – 8.25

20th - Shop/Store Keeper – 7.93

Top 10 Vehicles

Position - Make & Model - %age of personalised number plates

1st - Bentley Continental – 36.24

2nd - Ferrari 360 – 35.31

3rd - Aston Martin DB7 – 35.13

4th - Ferrari F430 – 30.20

5th - Mercedes CL – 29.14

6th - Mercedes SL – 29.10

7th - Jaguar XK8 – 27.90

8th - Lexus SC – 27.79

9th - Mercedes 280 – 27.49

10th - BMW 745 – 24.62

Bottom 10 postcode districts

Position – Postcode – District - %age of personalised number plates

1st - IP26 – Hilborough & Northwold, Thetford, Norfolk – 0.71

2nd - IP16 – Leiston, Suffolk – 0.81

3rd - S3 – Sheffield (Broomhall, Burngreave, Neepsend & Netherthorpe) – 0.95

4th - BD21 – Keighley, West Yorkshire – 1.06

5th - B33 – Kitts Green & Stechford, Birmingham – 1.11

6th - PL13 – Looe, Cornwall – 1.12

7th - M5 – Ordsall, Greater Manchester – 1.16

8th - BA8 – Templecombe, South Somerset – 1.20

9th - CT8 – Westgate-on-Sea, Kent – 1.20

10th - N15 – South Tottenham, London – 1.21

Bottom 10 Occupations

Position – Occupation - %age of personalised number plates

1st - Croupier/Gaming Club Employee – 0.42

2nd - Chambermaid – 0.50

3rd - Cinema (Manager) – 0.61

4th - Curator – 0.73

5th - Parcel Delivery Courier – 0.76

6th - Gamekeeper – 0.77

7th - Betting Shop Employee/Manager – 0.90

8th - Train Guard – 0.91

9th - Ecologist – 0.94

10th - Supermarket (Cashier) – 0.95

Bottom 10 Vehicles

Position - Make & Model - %age of personalised number plates

1st - Suzuki Liana – 0.30

2nd - Kia Pride – 0.43

3rd - Proton Wira – 0.43

4th - Rover 111 – 0.43

5th - Chevrolet Tacuma – 0.49

6th - Kia Shuma – 0.50

7th - Citroen AX – 0.52

8th - Rover Metro – 0.60

9th - Chevrolet Matiz – 0.61

10th - Daewoo Matiz – 0.67