Switzerland: when auction for license plate is a good news for the city

The canton of Valais is 160,100 francs richer after an anonymous bidder bought the car licence plate VS 1, with the letters standing for the Canton of Valais in western Switzerland, in an auction that finished on Tuesday last week.
The figure is the highest amount ever paid for a vehicle registration plate in the Alpine country and "surpassed expectations", said the cantonal authorities in a statement.
 
The canton’s road traffic and navigation service (SCN) launched the auction on February 15th with bids open for a month on a number of plates. The VS 1 plate attracted 17 bidders, with the highest bid coming from a person using the pseudonym Matrans. The Swiss system of the two letters indicating the canton followed by a number has been in place since 1933 and unlike most other European countries, it’s not the car that is assigned a plate, but a person. 

In future, the plan is to auction 60 car plates and 36 motorbike plates a year. Over the next decade, the canton expects the auctions to generate around CHF1 million, which will go towards the cantonal structural deficit.

"When he (or she?) will enroll his car with the license plate, we will organize a public ceremony and then, if it wants to, can manifest itself," said Udry, head of the local traffic office.

Last year, a Dubai-based businessman bought the famous ‘D5’ Dubai car plate for $8.98 million during a government auction.