The Bundeswehr license plates have a hyphen after the Y and mostly six codes that are assigned freely and independently of the unit or type of vehicle. Bundeswehr vehicles that were purchased in the USA only have three codes after the Y. Inspectors of the army, navy and air force only have one number – the inspector general of the Bundeswehr, for example, has the number “Y – 1” on the road.
The only other letter not yet taken was the “X”. These code letters were subsequently assigned to NATO vehicles. The service vehicles of international headquarters in Germany can be recognized by this letter. There are significantly fewer of these vehicles in Germany than the Bundeswehr counterpart: Only around 100 vehicles are on the road with the “X” on the license plate.