Russian lawmakers have proposed legalizing the sale of vanity car plates through state auctions, addressing a letter with this suggestion to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, as reported by “Izvestia.” The initiative aims to regulate the existing “grey” market for attractive number plates and potentially increase government revenues.
The letter to the government cites the high demand for plates featuring the letters “SVO” since the start of the special military operation. These plates have a starting price of 150,000 rubles, sometimes reaching up to 5 million rubles.
Currently, there’s no precise evaluation of the grey market’s size for car plates in Russia. However, data from Uzbekistan show significant financial benefits following the legalization of vanity plate sales in the country, which generated $25 million annually — a noteworthy figure considering Uzbekistan has only 3 million registered vehicles. In contrast, Russia has 18 times more vehicles.
The proposition to legalize the sale of vanity plates in Russia is not new. In 2020, the Ministry of Economic Development initiated the idea, and in 2023, the “New People” party presented a similar proposal. The National Automobile Union has expressed support for this initiative.
[Photo: a screenshot from a video on Rutube]