JDM import query

[magpie215]

I have a JDM Honda that was declared manufactured in 2009.

My question is why would DVLA issue a 58 vrm and not a 09/59?

[samoht]

Two pieces of information will solve this puzzle.

First, the plate changes twice a year on 1st March and 1st September.

So for the calendar year 2009 there are three age codes in use

Up to and including 28th Feb - '58'
1st Mar to 31st Aug - '09'
1st Sep onwards - '59'

Now the question becomes one of your car's first registration date (in Japan). If this date is in the first two months of 2009, the car will get the '58' age code.

Another possibility which I've seen quite commonly is that only the registration year is communicated from the Japanese registration to the re-registration in the UK. In this case the DVLA assigns a nominal registration date of 1st January of that year, in order to be on the 'safe' side by under-estimating its newness rather than the opposite. So this would also result in a 58 plate.