Victoria recently became the final Australian state to legalise seven-character number plates, allowing state drivers to expand their custom options on 25 April 2026.
As part of its celebrations, VicRoads auctioned off the first batch of these custom plates, with one plate fetching an eye-watering price.
The first ‘Seven Reserve’ plates – a batch of 12 seven-character plates including ‘1234567’, ‘PORSCHE’, ‘MCLAREN’ – went under the hammer on 27 May 2026, selling for an accumulative $2 million.
The ‘FERRARI’ registration plate topped the ranks after one bidder purchased it for a staggering $328,000. Other seven-digit numerical registration plates also found new homes among well-heeled bidders, including ‘8888888’ plates, which went under the hammer for $270,000.
Additionally, another bidder won the ‘1111111’ combination when they purchased it for $190,000, and the '9999999' number plate sequence sold for $185,000.
VicRoads also auctioned off a ‘Winner’s Choice’ plate – which fetched $202,000 – that “enabled the successful bidder to select any available seven-character combination, subject to standard eligibility, approval and availability rules”.
According to the state road authority, demand for custom number plates is growing in Victoria, where more than 1.7 million vehicles – out of more than 6.8 million registered – display non-standard plates.
Chief executive officer of registration and licensing services at VicRoads, Giles Thompson, said the auction results confirmed the general sentiment among enthusiasts.
“These results show the strongest appetite for more personalised and distinctive plate options in Victoria.”
The recent auction reflects VicRoads's commitment to number plate enthusiasts. In March 2026, the state transport agency launched a new number plate nicknamed the ‘mullet’ for the size difference between the front and rear plates, which reflects the iconic hairstyle.
The hybrid licence plate combines Victoria’s current standard-sized front number plate with custom-sized rear plates. According to VicRoads, the longer rear number plate was introduced to accommodate the pre-drilled holes on most Chinese cars.
While some car enthusiasts opt for sourcing the rarest combinations, some local motorists find pleasure in using some pretty *ahem* creative number plates.
If you want a full list of some of the funniest licence plates spotted by Drive in 2025, visit our previous story here.
Ethan traded clothing racks for gear sticks in 2023, when he joined the Drive team after freelancing for various fashion and pop culture magazines. Since then, he has delved deep into all things automotive, from emerging social media trends and road rules to industry and consumer news, hard-hitting exposés, and everything in between. Despite a young career in automotive, Ethan's contributions to the Australian automotive industry culminated in him winning the Newspress Rising Star Journalist award in 2024.
