PNG 1 Number Plate Sells For 350K at Auction

The ‘PNG’ number plate series was expected to be popular, as it’s short for ‘Penang’, and the high demand for the series has been confirmed by the state JPJ. New Straits Times reports that the ‘PNG 1’ plate received a bid of RM350,000, the highest ever in Penang. The report names Datuk M. Murly, CEO of a property development company, as the successful bidder.

JPJ Penang’s enforcement unit chief Zulkarnain Yasin said that ‘PNG’ vehicle registration numbers have received overwhelming response since the series was open for tender on October 30. A total of 1,554 bidders tried their luck.

“Total bids received for PNG is RM1.9 million involving 738 successful bidders. ‘PNG 1’ recorded the highest ever in the state, passing the previous record for ‘PNB 1’ sold for RM173,800,” he told the press in Bukit Mertajam today, adding that ‘PNG 5’ and ‘PNG 9’ received the second and third highest bids at RM95,000 and RM91,500 respectively.

There have been no shortage of fancy number plates for tender lately. We’ve seen the Y series, G series, ‘T1M‘, ‘A1M‘, ‘U’, ‘US’, ‘SMS‘, ‘RIMAU‘, ‘PERFECT’, ‘NAAM’, ‘VIP’, ‘GT’ and ‘PATRIOT’, on top of unique regular series plates such as ‘AKU‘, ‘RR‘, ‘DDD‘ and of course, today’s ‘PNG’.

WOULD you pay $50,000 for your DREAM number plates?

How about $300,000 for six of them?

Rodney Gilchrist has a DREAM that he hopes will snare him a $283,500 profit.

The Gold Coast businessman is selling six personalised number plates - DREAM1, DREAM2, DREAM3, DREAM4, DREAM5 and DREAM6 for $300,000.

The number plates have been on the market for about 12 months, as the church pastor patiently waits for a cashed-up fleet manager to buy the plates.

Mr Gilchrist said his Dream Centre Christian Church parishioners gifted him the DREAM1 number plate when he turned 40, 15 years ago.

Over the following years he decided to buy the other number plates for his wife and their four children.

"When I bought their number plates, the kids didn't even have their licences," Mr Gilchrist said.

"We mounted their plates on the wall and I said to them 'Pick out your dream car and when you get your licence we will buy you your dream car and put on your dream plates'."

The time has come for Mr Gilchrist to exchange the unique Queensland registrations for enough cash to enable the children to put deposits on their dream homes.

"I'm open to offers," Mr Gilchrist said.

"At the end of the day the plates have significant meaning to us, but helping the kids get into their own homes is more important."

The Delhi transport department will hold an auction for the first time for fancy two-wheeler registration numbers, with the most sought-after licence plate '0001' having a base price of Rs. 50,000.

The minimum price for the numbers from 0002 to 0009 will be Rs. 30,000, the department said in a notification.

Auction for fancy licence numbers of four-wheelers are already held and '0001' goes for a minimum reserved price of Rs. 5 lakh.

After the transport commissioner takes feedback on the auction prices and fix them, the department will announce when the auction will be held, said a senior transport department officer who asked not to be named.

A total of six categories of registration numbers will be auctioned for two-wheelers by the Arvind Kejriwal-run Delhi government's transport department.

The third-highest minimum price will be Rs. 20,000 for numbers -- 0010, 0099, 0786, 1000, 1111, 7777 and 9999.

Other fancy numbers -- 0100, 0111, 0200, 0222, 0101, 0108, 1008 and 1313 -- will have a minimum price of Rs. 15,000.

The auction will be held every week on the transport department's website.