Ireland plans to change 2013 car registration plates to avoid unlucky number 13

Bi-annual registration to spread out sales and dodge superstition

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LAURA BRYN SISSON,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

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Irish car registrations will be changed to avoid unlucky number 13

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The Society of the Irish Motor Industry has asked the Irish government to implement a new car registration system for next year, fearing that superstition against the number ‘13’ would hurt sales in 2013.

The government listened.

Instead of bearing the number ‘13,’ cars registered during the first half of next year will read ‘131,’ while the cars registered in the second half of the year are assigned ‘132,’ the Irish Independent reported.

A bi-annual registration system is also used in Britain, where proponents say it more accurately indicates when a car was made and where it was registered.

In Ireland, seventy percent of new cars are purchased between January and April, which causes cash flow problems for dealers in the second half of the year, according to the Independent.

The SIMI hopes summer registration will encourage more people to buy midway through the year.

SIMI director Alan Nolan predicted that superstition about the number 13 could seriously hurt car sales in 2013, with purchasers holding off for fear of unlucky accidents, the Irish Independent reported.

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