Car sales have been booming since Britain switched to its new-style registration plate system which started appearing on the roads last year.

The arrival of the new registration system in September pepped up an already buoyant year of sales, which took 2001 into the record books with more than two million new cars taking to the roads in the UK.

An explosion in new supermini models this spring, with the new Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo, lining up against the likes of the Honda Jazz and the forthcoming Citroen C3, will further boost sales as the 02 plate arrives.

The new plates have two letters followed by two numbers and three more letters.

The format replaces the single letter prefix which came to the end of its run with Y introduced in March 2001.

Z was not be used to avoid confusion with 2.

The first two letters on the new plates indicate where the vehicle was registered. Examples include OA-OY (Oxford), MA-MY (Manchester), SA-SY (Scotland), CA-CY (Wales), LA-LY (London) and BA-BY (Birmingham).

The numbers identify when it was registered, starting with 51 (September 2001 to the end of this month).

This will be followed by 02 in March, with a change each half-year. The last three letters are random unless you want to pay the DVLA for a sequence which reflects your name or something else of interest.

It has taken years for the new system to be agreed. The industry persuaded the Government to introduce changes each half-year to get away from an annual plate change each August which produced great pressure to get 400,000 or more cars prepared in a month.

The new-style plates have smaller digits to make room for optional British or Euro identification.

Last year, the Government gave the go-ahead to motorists who want to display national flags and symbols on their vehicle number plates.

The Union Jack, Cross of St George, Scottish Saltire or Welsh Dragon can appear on plates following a review by the DVLA. British drivers can also include the letters ENG, SCO and CYM on plates.

But a standard typeface is compulsory to outlaw italics, fancy Gothic and other plates which are difficult to read. New laws are tightening up on the supply of plates. From this summer, customers wanting to replace a damaged plate will have to produce evidence of identity.