Personalised Number Plates Mean Good Business!

The plates will be tamper-proof, secured by a snap lock, virtually impossible to duplicate by roadside vendors, with a unique identity number printed by a laser technique. They promise to provide vehicle-owners with security against theft or misuse by terrorists.

All this translates into an attractive business, with competition between half a dozen active players getting fierce. Players such as Rosmerta, Real Mazon, Celex, Schimnit and Promukh Hoffman, run by small businessmen, are gearing up for a kill. Huge potential A 100 million vehicles run on Indian roads and need to be fitted with new number plates, translating into a Rs 1,500 crore business in the next two years. With 18-20 million new vehicles being registered every year across the country, the annual business potential is Rs 300 crore. U R Kapoor, deputy director (operations) in Rosmerta Technologies, which is implementing the registration plate’s project in five states including Delhi is upbeat about the potential in number plates. “We are targeting at least 30 per cent market share of the Indian business. With a margin of Rs 5 per plate it could be an interesting business. Also the numbers of players bidding have also reduced now,” said Kapoor. The fierce competition between the players has affected price. The price that consumers have to pay for the plates has dropped like ninepins from as high as Rs 1,800 just two years ago to below Rs 150. Sandeep Aggarwal managing director of Celex Technologies which has won the contract for giving the registration plates in West Bengal, feels margins in the business are low. “The margin in the business has become low. And competition is fierce. As a result some players are working on negative margins”, said Aggarwal. The attempt to modernise number plates started in 2001 when the central government came out with a notification that all vehicles have to shift to the new security registration plates in a year. The implementation got delayed due to a plethora of court cases. The Supreme Court resolved the various contentious issues and is monitoring its implementation across the country.