N takes over as the first letter on new car number plates in Spain

For more than two and a half years the first letter of vehicle registrations has been M; a Seat Ibiza registered in Castellón was the first to get the new letter with 0000 NBB

José Antonio Guerrero

Madrid

Thursday, 17 April 2025, 16:19

On Monday 14 April Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) issued the first number plate with the letter N - 0000 NBB, assigned to a Seat Ibiza registered in Castellón, after two and a half years of cars being registered with the letter M. Curiously, the last number plate with the letter M, 9999 MZZ, was also assigned on Monday to another Seat Ibiza in Castellón. In both cases the vehicles are owned by a leasing company.

The M has been with us for more than two and a half years. On 2 September 2022, the first vehicle with the letter M, 0000 MBB, was registered. The DGT estimates that the N will be with us until at least 2027.

It was also in September, but in 2000, when the DGT started the new European registration format, based on a combination of four numbers and three letters, excluding the vowels and Ñ and Q. This model put an end to the system of provincial number plates, which had been present on the plates of Spanish cars since the beginning of motorisation.

From 1971 number plates had one or two letters for the province, followed by four numbers and one or two letters; this replaced the previous system (one or two letters of the province followed by six numbers).

Once the current configuration was released, the letter B (from 0000 BBB to 9999 BZZ) remained on the plates for 25 months, slightly less than the average, which is about 29.5 months for each letter. Below this average were C (23 months); D (20 months, the shortest duration); F (21 months); and K (28 months). Above were H (no less than 47 months); L (35 months); G (34 months); M (32 months); and J (31 months).

The evolution of the letters is a good indicator of the country's economic situation. Hence, the almost four years of the letter H (between December 2010 and November 2014) coincided with the worst moment of the housing and financial crisis that shook Spain between 2008 and 2014 and hit the pockets of millions of consumers, putting the brakes on the purchase of new vehicles and therefore on registrations.

We can also see how the pandemic sales of new vehicles and how this slowed down the evolution of number plates, which took months longer than usual to change lettering. This is what happened with the L, which remained for 35 months, the second longest period of time. It did so between October 2019 and September 2022, which was hit hard by the Covid pandemic. During the three months of lockdown from March to June 2020, hardly any cars sold, and its subsequent effects derived from the restrictions on movement.

10 letters in 25 years

So, from now on we will see more and more number plates whose letters start with N, but there are still nine more letters left (we have already used up half of the available consonants) to reach Z. Almost 25 years have passed between that first B and this new N, and the DGT calculates that there is still another quarter of a century to go before the current system of four numbers and three letters is exhausted.

The DGT foresees that the current model of plates will run out in 2053, in 28 years' time. To arrive at this date, they have taken into account the average annual number of registrations over the last decade: around 1.4 million vehicles, not including so-called special vehicles (tractors or trailers) and mopeds.

The DGT will make sure that there are no combinations with vowels in order to avoid swear words and the Spanish letter Ñ, "is not contemplated in European regulations," according to the DGT.

Personalised plates

DGT is also looking at systems used in other countries, especially those that have recently changed models because the previous ones have been used up or because they have decided to modernise them. They have looked at the number plates of European countries with the largest vehicle fleets, such as Germany (53 million vehicles), France and Italy (45 million). In addition to the regional codes, there is room for an almost inexhaustible combination of letters and numbers.

The DGT does not rule out electronic number plates and personalised plates, which are already in operation in some countries. On paper, the former would be a physical plate but with a QR code or a microchip incorporated that would contain all kinds of information about the vehicle: the date of registration, environmental classification, whether it has passed the MOT, whether it is current on its insurance or if it has had any accidents, among other data.

The personalised ones, on the other hand, would have a freely chosen name or word, but would always include the basic and compulsory information established at the time by the DGT. Of course, they would cost a lot, as in the United States, Hong Kong, Andorra, Dubai, or more recently Gibraltar, where there is the possibility of playing with letters and numbers as you wish in exchange for an outlay that can exceed six thousand euros.

Spain is home to the world's largest number plate manufacturer: Samar't, in Girona makes number plates for fifty countries. A few years ago, the company carried out a study which concluded that more than 50 per cent of Spanish drivers would like to personalise their number plates, and the percentage rose to 70 per cent among young people.

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