The FINANCIAL — The recent decision by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to offer new, personalised car number plates has turned out to be one of the most successful marketing campaigns ever made by the state body, raising GEL 3 million in the first three weeks alone. While no proper justification has been provided by the Ministry, the new plates have gained huge popularity amongst car owners wanting to personalize their cars.
Meeting European standards, protecting plates from falsification, and making better fitting number plates for cars imported from Japan and the U.S. are the main reasons behind why the Service Agency decided to design the new number plates, explained Imeda Makasarashvili, Head of the Service Agency’s Tbilisi Division.
BO-777-SS, LO-001-VE and SE-777-XI are among the 30,000 paid registration car number plates sold in September, 2014, by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Out of the 30,000 plates 40 percent are ordinary ones which cost GEL 35, while 60 percent are so-called “prestigious” plates, according to the Ministry. Plates amounting to at least GEL 3 million were sold in the first three weeks of September alone, while more than a million cars will still need to buy new plates by 2020.
The prices of ‘prestigious’ number plates start from GEL 150 and can reach up to GEL 10,000.
The design for the number plates of new vehicles registered in Georgia has undergone a major overhaul.
The change came into effect on 1 September, 2014. Current owners of vehicles are not obliged to change their old number plates until September 1st, 2020. However, the new plates have become so in demand so quickly that Makasarashvili claims that the whole auto park of Georgia will soon have new plates.
“18 years have passed since the first car number plates were issued in Georgia. During these 18 years practice has shown that the old car number plates have many shortcomings,” he said. “Most of the problems are down to protecting the authenticity of the plates, protecting the plates from falsification. In many cases plates were faked and it was difficult to find out whether a specific plate was real or not, or whether it belonged to a specific entity or not. This was the primary reason why we started thinking about issuing new car number plates. With the new number plates it is now impossible to fabricate them. In order to ensure the authenticity of a plate number, a special hologram with an image of the national emblem is embedded in it,” Makasarashvili added.
“Another reason for the change was the uncomfortable design and shape of the old number plates. Taking into consideration the Georgian auto park, the owners of vehicles imported from the United States and Japan are now able to get square-shaped number plates,” he said.
New car number plates have a wider variety of combinations which allows drivers to get more prestigious number plates. People mainly like to use names in their number plates. Out of all of the plates that have been bought, what have proved most popular are the words BOSS and LOVE, according to Makasarashvili.
“There are many names in Georgia comprised of just four letters so it is easier for drivers to choose such names for their number plate. It is obvious that Georgian drivers have a great scope of imagination. For example, some of the strangest plates I have encountered include CO001LI (meaning wife) which one husband bought for his spouse, GK020NI (kiss you), and IL020ET (pray), amongst others,” he said.
On the very day that the new number plates started being issued, 2,000 plates were bought by members of the public. “We are seeing that the demand is really very high. I think that by September 1st, 2020 all cars will have new number plates for sure. Today there are about a million cars registered in Georgia. Also, despite the fact that the old plates are valid until September 1st, 2020, in the case of purchasing a new car it will not be possible to use the old style of plates anymore. If buying a new car a driver must get a new plate,” Makasarashvili added.
The price of a car’s number plate is determined by Georgian legislation and depends on the combination of letters and numbers in it, Makasarashvili explained. Prices start from GEL 150 and go up to GEL 1,000. There are special plates as well whose prices can reach up to GEL 10,000. These special plates are made with a maximum of eight symbols. There are already about 70 plates which have been bought by drivers at a price of GEL 10,000, according to the Service Agency.
“The price of the number plates remains the same. Those who own personalized plates, for which a specific amount of cash was paid, will be offered the opportunity to change their old numbers plates into the new format for free. However, drivers will still pay the GEL 70 to change the plate – GEL 35 for the plate-making fee and GEL 35 for the issuance of a new registration certificate. There are no free car number plates. What we call ‘free’ plates actually cost GEL 35,” said Makasarashvili.
Listed below are the prices of new plates according to various different combinations of numbers and letters:
111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 (e.g.: AA – 111 – AA) – GEL 1,000;
001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009 (e.g.: BB – 002 – BB) – GEL 800;
111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 (e.g.: GT – 444 – TT) – GEL 800;
111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 (e.g.: SO – 777 – SO) – GEL 800;
111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 (e.g.: RR – 111 – PO) – GEL 700;
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 (e.g.: CC – 300 – CC) – GEL 600;
001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009 (e.g.: YU – 005 – YY) – GEL 600;
001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009 (e.g.: NN – 008 – MM) – GEL 600;
001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009 (e.g.: TU – 002 – KU) – GEL 500;
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 (e.g.: WW – 600 – PW) – GEL 400;
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 (e.g.: DF – 900 – FD) – GEL 400;
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 (e.g.: EI – 300 – LL) – GEL 300;
111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 (e.g.: NJ – 444 – HZ) – GEL 250;
001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009 (e.g.: VX – 005 – MW) – GEL 200;
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 (e.g.: QR – 600 – FD) – GEL 150;
Plates which cost GEL 10,000 can be made up of any combination of letters and numbers depending on the owner’s wishes, for example GEORGI – 1.
According to the Service Agency, the most popular types of plates are those which cost in the range of GEL 250-350. Drivers can also book plates for a period of up to two months, paying GEL 1.50 per day. In addition, it is possible to get the new style number plates for vehicles with trailers as well.
Incidentally, one of the most prestigious registration numbers, released by London Council in 1903, is owned by HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
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