Indian Number Plates a Status Symbol

A farmer-turn-realtor recently bid a whopping Rs 10 lakh to have a VIP registration number for his SUV. Many affluent Punjabis have, in the past, spent big money to have their preferred number for their vehicle, but Chandigarh-based NS Shergill outdid them by spending Rs 10 lakh to buy the preferred number for his SUV, whose cost was just double the price he paid for its registration number.

During an auction this weekend, Shergill made the highest bid of Rs 10 lakh before the Chandigarh Registration and Licensing Authority, to get CH01-AC-0001 for his SUV. Asked to comment on the craze for a small digit number, particularly among the Punjabis, Bhatti says, “People think it is a status symbol”.

Jon Cherry

Jon Cherry is a Director of leading personalised number plate dealer Regplates.com. Jon has over 25 years industry experience handling some of the most expensive plates ever sold with many high profile and celebrity clients. Active since 1991 in the number plate industry, Jon is currently Chairman of the Cherished Numbers Guild, a trade body representing number plate dealers in the UK. Jon has written many articles on the industry and insight into the future of numberplates and the market as a whole.