A private company reportedly bought the registration number ‘KL 07 DG 0007’ for a luxury Lamborghini Urus car for an incredible 45 lakh at an auction in Kerala's Kochi, setting a record for the costliest notified fancy vehicle number ever fetched in Kerala. The ₹4-crore Lamborghini car was registered with the Ernakulam Regional Transport Office (RTO).
The unique fancy number, 0007, fetched an astonishing ₹45.99 lakh at the online auction hosted by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) on April 7, according to a report by The Hindu.
The auction began with an initial booking price of ₹25,000, which was paid by five individuals, prompting the auction. The bidding process, with a minimum increment of ₹1,000 per bid and no maximum cap, saw an intense battle of sorts, eventually leaving two bidders in the race.
The final bid was placed at ₹45.99 lakh, surpassing an earlier bid of ₹44.84 lakh, according to the report. However, the number will only be assigned to the winning bidder once the full bid amount is paid. So far, only the initial ?25,000 booking fee has been paid, MVD sources cited in the report confirmed.
Another notable fancy number, KL-07 DG 0001, was also sold through a similar auction, fetching ₹25.52 lakh. This number had a base booking price of ₹1 lakh, and the car associated with it belonged to an individual in Piravom.
Auction process
{{/usCountry}}Another notable fancy number, KL-07 DG 0001, was also sold through a similar auction, fetching ₹25.52 lakh. This number had a base booking price of ₹1 lakh, and the car associated with it belonged to an individual in Piravom.
Auction process
{{/usCountry}}The MVD’s auction process allows anyone interested in a fancy number to book it online through the Parivahan website from Monday to Saturday at 4:30 pm, followed by an online auction. The auction concludes on Monday morning around 10:30 am, and if no bids are received within 10 minutes after that, the number is allocated.
The government has established six categories of fancy numbers with base prices ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹1 lakh. Among the most sought-after numbers is "1", which has a base price of ₹1 lakh. Additionally, there are a batch of eight numbers priced at ₹50,000, 16 numbers at ₹25,000, 29 numbers at ₹10,000, and 66 numbers priced at ₹5,000. Any remaining numbers are priced at ₹3,000.
According to a 2023 RTI reply, the Ernakulam Regional Transport Office (RTO) contributed ₹11.84 crore to the State exchequer from the auctioning of fancy numbers between 2017 and 2022.