Car salesmen in Brighton are not expecting hordes of drivers to snap up new-style registration plates when they go on sale.

A new study shows many people do not even know the change is taking place.

The familiar registration plates of a letter, followed by three numbers and three letters, is being replaced by a new style of plate from Saturday.

These will have two letters relating to where the car is registered, two numbers signifying the year and three letters.

The survey by the financial arm of Marks and Spencer revealed 60 per cent of drivers did not know about the new plates.

Another survey by the internet motoring service MSN Carview showed only three per cent of people understood the new format.

The two-letter codes relate to places in the country. Cars registered in London will begin with L, those in Manchester with M and those in Birmingham with a B.

But cars registered in Brighton will start with a G, which represents the Garden of England.

And vehicles bought in West Sussex could start with a G or H, if the Portsmouth office is closer.

A spokesman for the DVLA insisted the new format was not confusing.

He said: "The Garden of England is a well-established term of reference for the area covered by the Maidstone and Brighton local offices."

The spokesman said those selling cars in the Chichester area would be able to choose whether to put a Hampshire H or a Sussex G on their customers' plates.

He explained: "A vehicle dealership near the border of a local office catchment area has a choice to link with the office most convenient to his business."

Robert Rons, sales manager at Caffyns Audi, Dyke Road, Brighton, said he did not think many people would be confused.

He said: "At the end of the day, there are some British people that will be the traditionalist types who think if the old numbers worked, why change them?

"But some people will like to see the change. It is like the telephone numbers."

However, Mr Rons said said the new number plates had not prompted a flurry of orders.