Replacement Number Plated for Proton Cars Starting from £25 a Pair
If you own an older Proton and its plate is cracked, faded or missing, this page is for you. We make Proton number plates for any registration, in one size, 520mm x 111mm, front and rear. A pair costs from £25 for Standard up to £64 for 5D Gel. Proton stopped selling new cars in the UK around 2014, so every Proton on the road is a used car. So a replacement usually follows a repair: a broken plate, a new bumper, a warning at the MOT.
Cracked, faded, failing or missing: which Proton number plate to order
- Cracked or snapped. Look at the bumper before you order. A split bumper often takes the plate with it, and new screws in split plastic will not hold for long. See what to do if your plate falls off or gets damaged.
- Faded or peeling. The print has worn thin. Standard solves it for £25 a pair. If you want a little more depth, 3D Gel is the gentle step up.
- At risk of failing the MOT. Choose road legal mode so the legal spacing and font are applied for you. A show plate on a road car risks an MOT failure.
- Missing or stolen. Order a new set in road legal mode. We check ID and entitlement documents first, so have yours ready.
Scenario: a Gen-2 hatchback with a cracked rear plate, two weeks before its MOT. The owner drives it every day and wants a sound fix at the lowest sensible cost. A single Standard plate is £15, but a pair is £25 and gives a matching new white front. Both sit under the £30 line for free Tracked24 delivery. A 3D Gel pair is £38, only £13 more than the Standard pair, and it ships free. For this owner the 3D Gel pair is the better buy than the single.
What a pair of Proton number plates costs and what the extra money buys
Our pair prices run from £25 to £64, a spread of £39. Standard is £25. 3D Gel and 4D 3mm are £38, so £13 more. 4D 5mm is £50, which is £25 more than Standard. 4D Gel 3mm is £54 (£29 more) and 5D Gel 5mm is £64 (£39 more). Black Diamond is £60 for now, an introductory price, and is usually £75. Two Standard singles cost £30 and a pair costs £25, so if you need both ends, buy the pair.
The gap buys depth, gloss and shadow on the characters. It does not buy legality: that is decided by the road legal or show choice you make first in the builder.
Here is what that means on a Proton. A Savvy or a Persona that gets you to work is a car where £25 for Standard is the sensible spend. A 5D Gel pair costs more than two and a half times as much. A Satria GTi that someone has kept and looked after is a different case. There the gap between 4D 5mm at £50 and 5D Gel at £64 is only £14, and the plate is on show at every meet. Match the spend to how much you care about the car, not to what the car cost.
Proton 1.3, Persona, Satria, Impian, Jumbuck, Gen-2 and Savvy number plates: the best finish for each
| Model (years sold in UK) | Best finish from our seven | Why it suits this car | Who it is wrong for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton 1.3 and 1.5 saloon and Aeroback hatch (from March 1989 until the Persona in late 1993) | Standard | The oldest Protons still driven are well over 30 years old. A flat, traditional plate looks right at that age, and it is the cheapest pair. | Anyone who wants a deep raised look on a plain original. 3D Gel is the most you would want to add. |
| Persona (from November 1993 into the early 2000s) | 3D Gel | A family saloon or five-door used daily. A small raised gloss for £13 more, without changing the look of the car much. | Someone who wants the plate to blend in completely. Standard does that for less. |
| Compact, later called Satria (Compact from 1995, Satria name added in the UK from August 2000) | 4D 3mm | A three-door hatch where a shallower 3mm raised profile adds shine and is the lower-risk raised option if you have not yet measured the recess. | Owners who drive through winter muck and want the easiest wipe. Flat plates clean faster. |
| Satria GTi (UK launch November 1999, built to 2005) | 4D 5mm on dark paint, 3D Gel on silver or light paint | The enthusiast's Proton. Dark paint shows the stronger shadow of 4D 5mm well, while light paint reads more cleanly with a flatter finish. | Anyone ordering 5D Gel without measuring the recess first. |
| Impian (April 2001 to 2008) | Standard | A plain four-door saloon, now roughly 18 to 25 years old. A flat plate matches the original look. | Show owners. Black Diamond or 5D Gel suit a build, not a family saloon. |
| Jumbuck (UK launch June 2003, sold to at least 2006) | 3D Gel | A small coupe-utility pickup. If it works for a living, the raised gel gives some finish while keeping the edges low. | Owners who carry wet or muddy loads and do not want to clean around raised edges. |
| Gen-2 (from 2004; dual-fuel ecoLogic from August 2008) | 3D Gel | A five-door hatch that most owners use every day. Low fuss, a small step up from Standard. | Anyone who thinks the dual-fuel version qualifies for a green flash. It does not. |
| Savvy (from September 2005) | Standard | A small supermini, so the cheapest pair is usually enough. Save the money for a fitting kit if the old screws are rusted. | Someone after a premium look. Move up to 4D 5mm for that. |
Proton Satria GTi number plates: the hatch Lotus tuned at Hethel
The Satria GTi reached the UK in November 1999 at £14,500. Lotus re-engineered it at Hethel in Norfolk, and it wears a "Handling by Lotus" badge on the tailgate. We make plates for Lotus cars as well, so if you own one alongside the GTi, see our Lotus plates page.
Scenario: a GTi owner who drives it at weekends and goes to meets. The car is more than 20 years old with a dark respray, and the faded plate needs to look sharp in photographs without risking an MOT. The sensible order is a road legal pair in 4D 5mm at £50, which gives the stronger shadow that stands out on dark paint. A show-only set for display days is a separate order, and it must never go on the car on a public road.
When a Proton number plate should stay plain
We would talk you out of 5D Gel on two kinds of Proton. One is a Savvy or an Impian that is simply getting through the MOT, where you would pay £39 more than Standard for depth that adds little to a plain runabout. The other is any car whose recess you have not measured. 5D Gel has the deepest profile of our seven styles, and a shallow recess is where a deep plate causes trouble. Standard plates are the honest choice for runabouts, and 3D Gel gives a small lift for £13 more.
Is there an electric Proton? Green flash and Proton number plates
No Proton was sold in the UK as a pure electric car, so no UK Proton qualifies for a green flash. The Gen-2 ecoLogic is dual-fuel, which is not zero-emission. A green flash is only for pure battery electric vehicles. Mild hybrids, hybrids and plug-in hybrids do not qualify. Proton's electric e.MAS 7 is a Malaysian model that is not sold in the UK, and our plates are not suitable for vehicles registered outside the UK.
Road legal Proton number plates against show plates
Our road legal plates are made to the DVLA's published rules (BS AU 145e), and we check ID and entitlement documents before we make one. Under those rules the characters are 79mm high and 50mm wide (except 1 and I), with a 14mm stroke and 11mm gaps. There is a 33mm gap between the age identifier and the rest, and 11mm margins. The front plate is white and the rear is yellow. The full list is on the gov.uk rules for displaying number plates.
Those numbers have a real effect on the plate. Take a seven-character registration in the current style (two letters, two numbers, three letters), which is what a Gen-2 or Savvy normally carries, with no 1 or I in it. Seven characters at 50mm is 350mm. Five 11mm gaps add 55mm, the 33mm age identifier gap adds 33mm, and two 11mm margins add 22mm. The total is 460mm, which leaves 60mm of the 520mm plate spare. A registration with a 1 or an I takes less room. In road legal mode the builder lays this out for you, so you only type the registration.
Show plates are display only. They are not road legal, and fitting one to a road vehicle risks an MOT failure and a fine of up to £1,000. If you are unsure which is which, read which plates are road legal and which are show only before you order. No Proton was built before 1 January 1980, so the black and silver rule for older vehicles never applies to one.
Fitting Proton number plates: screws, sticky pads and a tired bumper
Screws are the more reliable fix. Check for splits around the old holes before driving a new screw in. Sticky pads work best on smooth, flat panels in normal weather, and they are a poor choice on a textured or curved surface. A fitting kit can be added to your order. Our fitting guide walks through both methods. We do not offer a fitting service, so you will fit them yourself or ask a local garage.
Cleaning raised Proton number plates without scratching the finish
Raised finishes need gentler cleaning than flat plates. Use a soft cloth and mild soapy water, and skip stiff brushes, which can scratch the gloss. Dirt collects around the raised edge, so wipe along the characters rather than scrubbing across them. A flat Standard plate needs less care than any raised style.
Delivery of Proton number plates to the UK
Delivery is free by Tracked24 on orders over £30. Every pair except the Standard pair crosses that line. Order before 2pm and most plates are dispatched the same day. Read the returns terms on our delivery and returns page before you pay. For the general guide, see our replacement number plates page.
Verdict: for most Proton owners, a road legal pair in Standard at £25 is the right order, or 3D Gel at £38 if you want a small lift and free delivery. If you own a Satria GTi you care about, spend the extra on 4D 5mm at £50, or 5D Gel at £64 once you have measured the recess. Check the registration against your V5C, and choose road legal for anything that is driven.
Why buy from Legal & Show Plates
We're a Bradford-based online plate maker shipping UK-wide, rated 5.0 on Google from over 300 reviews and 4.6 on Trustpilot. Order before 2pm for same-day dispatch, with a tracked 24-hour Royal Mail option available.
Proton number plate answers: UK sales, size, legality and the Lotus link
Q: When did Proton leave the UK, and does it still sell cars here?
Proton stopped selling new cars in the UK around 2014. Cars first arrived here in March 1989. There has been talk of a return, but no UK launch has been confirmed, so every Proton you see on the road is a used car. The maker still builds cars in Malaysia.
Q: What size is a Proton number plate?
We make one size only, 520mm x 111mm, for the front and the rear. The plate follows your registration, not your model, so measure your own bumper recess and surround first, especially for a deeper finish such as 5D Gel.
Q: Are 4D number plates legal on a Proton?
It depends on how the plate is made, not on the car. A 4D plate made in road legal mode follows BS AU 145e. A 4D plate made in show mode is for display only and is never road legal. If the Proton is driven, choose road legal in the builder.
Q: Is the Proton Satria GTi a Lotus?
No, it is a Proton that Lotus re-engineered at Hethel in Norfolk. It carries a "Handling by Lotus" badge on the tailgate. Proton owned Lotus from 1996 until Geely took control in 2017, and Lotus also developed the suspension of the Gen-2 hatchback.
Q: Where can I get a replacement number plate for an old Proton?
Order online from us. Type your registration in the builder, choose road legal mode, pick a style and add it to the basket. Set the front and rear quantities, using 0 for one of them if you only need a single plate, and the preview shows white at the front and yellow at the back.
Q: Do I need documents to buy a Proton number plate?
For a road legal plate, yes. We check ID and entitlement documents before we make one, so keep your ID and your V5C to hand. The check exists so that a road legal plate is only made for someone entitled to the registration. Show plates are display only and can never be used on a public road.
Q: Who owns Proton, and is it still made?
Proton is a Malaysian maker, owned by DRB-HICOM and Geely, and it still builds cars in Malaysia. None of its current range is sold in the UK. We make the plate to your registration, whatever the badge on the car says.
