Vehicle registration number 0001 sold for Rs 16 lakh
Rs 16 lakh to a hospitality company, the highest bid since the e-auction was introduced by the Delhi government’s transport department in 2014.
After red and blue beacons atop cars, 0001 is the new status symbol for the Capital’s who’s who. The fancy (VIP) vehicle registration number — 0001 — was sold for
Rs 16 lakh to a hospitality company, the highest bid since the e-auction was introduced by the Delhi government’s transport department in 2014.
While the number had over 30 bidders, the highest bid was made by Palm Land Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. in the e-auction that took place on June 17. The bidders for these numbers are politicians and industrialists.
“This was the highest bid in three years for the premium number. There is a spurt in the number of bidders after the red and blue beacon ban set in earlier this year,” said Special Commissioner (Transport) KK Dahiya.
Earlier, the highest bid of Rs 12.5 lakh was made for this number in September 2014 by Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited.
The reserve price for the number was Rs 5 lakh. The online auction for VIP numbers in different categories takes place once a month, which is conducted by the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC).
The other favourite fancy numbers for vehicle owners were 0007 and 0009. The number 0007 was auctioned for Rs 10.40 lakh in February in 2015 in comparison to a bid of Rs 8.50 lakh for number 0009 in September 2014 against the reserve price of Rs 3 lakh.
The trend of flaunting VIP numbers had started from Chandigarh, which saw the bids going in double digits for the premium numbers.
“Besides the trend picking up, the reason for more and high bids is that the entire auction takes place online. The payments are received and the allotment letter is issued to the owner online, which is a transparent and hassle-free process. Prior to e-auction the same used to run into long delays,” said Dahiya.