Another Australian auction plate goes for big money
A New South Wales number plate sold at auction at the end of October is believed to have set a new record for the highest price ever publicly paid for a three-digit registration number in the country.
NSW number plate 100 sold for $970,703 AUD, including fees and taxes. The registration number and its plates were bought by an online bidder, identified only as "Jhong". The winning bid of $905,000 AUD was subject to 6.6% auction fees and 10% Goods and sales tax (GST), which is equivalent to UK VAT.
Unlike the UK, buyers of Australia's "heritage plates" aren't just concerned with the rights to display the registration on a vehicle, they also see value in the original, physical number plates themselves. Original heritage plates from the state of Victoria, manufactured using vitreous enamel, are much coveted.
While the price achieved by NSW 100 is substantial, it is not in the same league as NSW 1, the state and the country's most expensive ever private registration, which sold for $12.4 million AUD (approximately £6,439,044 GBP) earlier this year.
Ireland will soon have its own green-flash number plates for zero-emissions vehicles
Republic of Ireland drivers of zero-emission vehicles, such as fully electric and hydrogen cell cars, will soon have the option of displaying number plates with a green flash to show that their vehicle is relatively environmentally friendly.
The Irish version of the green flash will work much the same as its UK counterpart, except the Irish plates will feature the green panel on the right hand side of the plates instead of the left. As Ireland is a member of the European Union, its car number plates have a blue panel on the left of the plate displaying the EU stars.
Ireland's green flash plates will be introduced from 1 July 2025. As well as cars, the plates will be available for motorcycles, vans, buses and trucks that meet the emissions criteria.
Belgium's paradoxically strict yet flexible private number plates system
Like the UK, Belgium has strict rules about the manufacture and format of its number plates, including personal plates. Unlike the UK, Belgium's vehicle number plates are assigned to the person rather than the vehicle, and so are automatically retained by their owner when they change cars.
The Belgian colour scheme is red characters on a white background. The mandatory design format is pretty standard, with a panel on the left bearing the letter “B” for Belgium and the European Union stars. Plates can be oblong or square as necessary, like in the UK.
Belgium's Vehicle Registration Service, the DIV, can issue personalised number plates, as well as those in the default sequence. To Brits who need to employ pattern recognition tricks to make names and words out of a combination of letters and numbers, Belgian drivers can, within certain limits, simply apply for the name, word or character combination of their choice. For names and words, they can simply be spelt out using letters. Other combinations including letters, numbers and, if desired, dashes, may also be requested.
At first this may sound like heaven to the average British private plates fan, but there are, of course, flaws that make it all less than perfect. Registrations may not be duplicates, so only one of each combination will be issued. If, for example, all the Johns and Janes have been issued, then Belgians have to get creative, like their UK counterparts, and employ dashes and character substitutions, perhaps replacing an O with a zero, or replacing an R or Z with a 2. Another restriction says that mopeds, taxis and certain other types of vehicle are not eligible to display personalised number plates.
There is also an argument (which we naturally support) that simply being able to order the word or name of your choice without the need to get inventive with characters rather takes the fun out of it all and, for some people, removes a vital part of the cherished registration charm.
First it was shark plates and now it's monster plates for US drivers
In last month's Number plate news around the world post, we told you about Rhode Island's mako shark license plates. Well, this time it's motorists in New Mexico who are able to add wildlife to their number plates (without crashing into it).
The gila monster is the USA's only venomous native lizard. It can grow to about 56cm in length. The lizard is easily recognised by its distinctive markings of black and orange, pink or yellow. Its name uses a Spanish pronunciation of the letter "g", which sounds like English "h" when it comes before the letter "i"; so gila monster is actually pronounced "hila monster" in English.
Money raised from sales of the monster plate will go towards the Share With Wildlife program, which funds innovative research, habitat enhancement and education projects.
