Chipped Security Number Plates

VEHICLES in the country can look forward to using number plates that come with security features in the near future.

That is an innovation which Penang-based name plate manufacturer Volcano Name Plate Sdn Bhd is planning to introduce to the local and regional market with the help of its European partner.

“Vehicle number plates with QR Code, hologram, UV prints or radio frequency identification (RFID) chips are very popular in Europe as these innovative security features protect the vehicle plates against falsification.

“The RFID chip, for example, allows the number plates to be tracked when they are stolen,” shares Volcano managing director Nelson Ch’ng.

Ch’ng says the company is currently looking into an appropriate business strategy to grow this new segment.

“We will need to inject about RM30mil for a fully automated production line to produce the new number plates,” he says.

You might notice one while sitting at a red light or tailing someone too closely on the highway.

Often, they’re straightforward enough. Other times, they act as short cryptograms, sparking debate among drivers and passengers: What in tarnation does that vanity license plate mean?

The personalized plates are used to convey all kinds of messages with just a handful of letters -- jokes about a family surname, a tongue-in-cheek reference to a profession or an ode to a favorite sports team.

But some vanity plate requests are made in vain. State departments of motor vehicles have a license to kill any plate they deem inappropriate. In 2016, 1,302 plates were rejected in Virginia. In the same year, Tennessee rejected just 18.

So what are the top selling number plates in the UK? The DVLA has been selling private plates to UK motorists since 1989. During this time, there have been a number of records set, but most of the top 10 have been bought in the past 15 years. Here’s what currently makes the list:

25 0 – A Ferrari dealer bought this for £518k in 2014. It is now on a £10 million Ferrari 250 SWB.
F 1 – A businessman, Afzal Khan, bought this for £440k in 2008 and put it on his McLaren-Mercedes SLR.
S 1 – This was bought in 2008 for £404k by an anonymous buyer.
1 D – Businessman Nabil Bishara bought this plate in 2009 (before One Direction was formed, so it is not a reference to the band) for £352k.
M 1 – Businessman Mike McCoomb bought this number plate in 2006 for £331k, apparently for his son, who was 10 at the time.
VIP 1 – Chelsea owner and businessman Roman Abramovich bought this plate for £285k in 2006.
51 NGH – This number plate, which looks like the surname Singh, was sold in 2006 for £254k.
1 RH – Businessman Robert Haverson bought this in 2006 for £247k.
K1 NGS – This reg plate, which looks like the word “kings”, was bought anonymously in 1993 for £231k.
1 0 – This very simple but striking number plate was bought anonymously in 2009 for £170k.

These are large amounts of money, but they are all small compared to the top-selling number plates found in other parts of the world. Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, has the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold. That number plate was a simple “1”. It was bought in 2008 by businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.25 million.

number plates