European-style number plates altogether more fitting

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

Fashion-conscious drivers in New Zealand will soon be able to buy new European-style number plates.

The plates, made by the Personalised Plates company, will fill out the wider space on the front bumper and rear boot lid of many European cars.

Standard New Zealand plates are not as wide and factory-fitted screw and plate fittings on such cars are left exposed.

The new-look plates have been approved by the Land Transport Safety Authority. They will be available next month, first to BMW owners through its dealer network and then to owners of other European brands.

Why BMW first? Because it came up with the idea and saw the project through to approval.

"To some people, this may seem like a small thing to do," said BMW national sales manager Andrew Myers.

"But when you have made a significant investment in a quality car like a BMW, I believe you have a right to expect it to arrive looking as its designers intended."

European carmakers have been trying for years to get permission from licensing authorities to use wider plates.

"Until now, none have succeeded," said Myers.

"This has meant the owner of a European car had to put up with an unfinished-looking, untidy area on each side of their registration plate. We wanted to make the experience of owning a new BMW as complete and satisfying as possible, and this was an area that we had been thinking about for some time."

BMW technician Lance Roskilly got the project under way last year. He approached Personalised Plates about making the wider plates for New Zealand's standard three-letter, three-number registrations.

It made a dummy plate showing the six-digit registration, with the New Zealand flag on the left and the BMW logo on the right. It then got the LTSA to approve the format.

"We believe Personalised Plates was the key to gaining approval for Euro plates," said Myers.

"They have an existing relationship with the licensing authorities, and were thus able to reassure them that standards of visibility and all legal aspects would be maintained.

Myers said BMW has also secured the alpha-numeric registrations beginning with the letters "BMW".

The Euro-style plates start in price from $275. Delivery will take four days. BMW has exclusive rights for six weeks before Personalised Plates makes them available to other carmakers.

The new format extends personal plate options on European cars.

Some owners might want the family crest on one side of the plate and the old school badge and motto on the other.

Drivers proud of their province might want to show it.

A Northlander might go for a kauri tree and a caricature of favourite rugby son Peter Jones on the plate.

A Blues supporter might choose a stylised harbour bridge and a rugby ball.

In the Waikato, a cow bell and a red, black and yellow jersey. In Wellington, the Beehive and the cable car. Who knows?

"It's early days, but there are a whole lot of opportunities if there is value for us there," said Personalised Plates executive Jane McNamara.

"There would certainly be costs involved in things like the screen printing for such personal designs.

"But we are very excited about the possibilities. The BMW start is a good test of the product potential."

LTSA spokesman Andy Knackstedt said the new-look plate couldn't become cluttered to the point where it was messy and the six-digit registration obscured.

"The police might have something to say about that."

The new plates might be European in style but they are a world away from the real thing in Germany, for example.

On the left of the plate pictured are the European flag and the small letter D for Deutschland. The letter M stands for Munich, where the car is registered. Next to that is the Bavarian state stamp, of which Munich is the capital, and warrant of fitness and emission test badges. Then the numbers and letters.

Across the Tasman, the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales last year approved European-style plates.

An RTA spokesman said: "We noticed many European cars were advertised in Australia with European number plates, presumably because they looked better."

Surveys show that BMW owners like the plates most, followed by Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. The oldest car with the new plates on Sydney streets is a 1948 Austin.