Car Care Products

The humble and obligatory number plate is on every car out there, but where did it come from and how much are some now much – we think you will be amazed. Number Plates or Licence Plates as they are called in some countries have been around for longer than there have been automobiles. France was the first country to introduce the number plate with the passage of the Paris Police Ordinance in 1893, followed by Germany in 1896. The Netherlands was the first country to introduce a national number plate, called a “driving permit”, in 1898. The first plates were just a number, starting at 1, by August 8, 1899 the counter was at a huge 168. When the Netherlands chose a different way to number the plates on January 15, 1906 the last issued plate was 2001.

Earlier plates varied in size and shape from one jurisdiction to the next, such that if one moved, new holes would need to be drilled into the bumper to support the new plate. Standardization of plates came in 1957, when automobile manufacturers came to agreement with governments and international standards organizations. While peculiar local variants still exist, there are three basic standards worldwide.

- 520mm x 110 or 120mm – in the bulk of European countries

- 300mm by 150mm – in the majority of the Americas.

- 372mm by 135mm – in Australia and some other Pacific Rim countries.

However some people now see number plates as a way of customising their car and while the basic ones start from less than $100 some now run into the $1000’s or even millions

For example in the UK where prices are very high and there are a lot of ‘private plates’ Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich, bought the plate “VIP 1” in 2006, for £285,000 (about $450,000) – probably pocket change for him. This plate was also once placed on the Pope-mobile for Pope John Paul II’s papal visit to Ireland.

Now let’s step things up into top gear. The record price was set for a British vehicle registration number when businessman Afzal Khan paid a total of £440,625 (about $710,000) for the Formula One initials “F1”. The Bradford entrepreneur assigned it to his Mercedes-Benz McLaren, which cost £200,000 less than the number plate. The historic plate was first issued by the Essex County Register of Motors in 1904.

Ok where else would the most expensive number plate in the world be, of course Abu Dhabi. Said Abdul Ghafour Khouri paid AED 52.2 Million ( about $14.3 Million) for Abu Dhabi license plate “1” at an auction at the 7-star Emirates Palace Hotel. The previous record was held by Abu Dhabi plate “5” bought at auction for $6.8 million by stock broker Talal Khouri the year before.