Personalised number plates are big business in Belgium

Personalised number plates are a huge success in Belgium, says mobility secretary Jacqueline Galant in De Zondag. Since the option was introduced five years ago, Belgium's transport ministry has sold €21.6 million in personalised plates.

Until December last year, car owners paid €1,000 to put together their own unique combination of letters and numbers. The personalised plates now cost twice as much, but it is too soon to tell whether people are put off by the price doubling.

The transport ministry recorded a record year in 2014, when it received about 6,500 applications for personalised number plates.