A stunning new trend has recently emerged among the wealthiest denizens of UAE– spending millions of Dirhams on car registration plates. Apparently, these number plates have become the latest sought-after item by UAE millionaires as an accessory to their luxury cars. Many times, the amount bid for the plate actually exceeds the price of the car with which it will be used.
The aim is to get the smallest possible license number, with single numbers such as 1, 2 and 3 are the most sought after. The next most sought after are two-digit numbers ranging from 10 to 99. Also, in demand are repetative numbers, i.e. 11, 22, 33, and so on.
Other car owners are bidding for numbers that are linked to their car’s model number, i.e. the plate number 599 for a Ferrari 599. There are also those who want numbers that have personal significance for them, such as those that reflect their birth date or an anniversary.
The demand is so high that there are people who have made a business out of buying and selling these plates. One of the most prominent bidders, Abdullah Al Hammadi, claims to have over 7,000 plates worth Dh60 million to Dh70 million.
He noted that many of the bidders who buy these ultra-expensive plates are young people who believe that having a good number on their car will win them respect. But he also said that many of those who buy these license plates do not use them on their cars, since they believe that doing so will cause the value of the plate to go down.
The most expensive license plate ever sold in Dubai was recently auctioned off for a whopping Dh52.2 million, in an auction run by Emirates Auction supported by the Abu Dhabi Police General Directorate. The winner of the bidding for plate number “1” was 25-year-old businessman Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri from Abu Dhabi. His winning bid was more than double that of the third-place record holder, plate number “5”, which sold for Dh25.2 million, to Talal Ali Mohammad Khouri, who is Saeed’s cousin.
The second most expensive number plate was sold to an Indian businessman named Balwinder Sahani. Sahani paid Dh33 million for number plate “D-5” at the auction of the Roads and Transport Authority. He said that he would use the plate with one of his many Rolls-Royce cars.
This is not the first time that Sahani has paid such a huge sum for a license number. Previously he had bid Dh25 million for license plate “O-9”. He said that he has amassed ten license plates so far and he will continue to collect more.
Another businessman, Arif Ahmad Al Zarouni, paid Dh18 million for plate number “1” in Sharjah. He said that he only intends to bid on plate number 1’s, since his ambition is to be number one always.
The good thing about the auctioning of these number plates is that the proceeds will go to charitable causes. The proceeds of the Emirates Auction that sold the record-breaking number plate will be used to open a specialized hospital for accident victims in Abu Dhabi.
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