The craze for splurging unfathomable amounts on registration plates is growing rapidly in our market
In a rather shocking chain of events, HR88B8888 becomes the most expensive number plate in India. In recent times, I have reported numerous cases of people spending incredibly extravagant amounts on number plates for their luxury cars. The aim is to stay distinct in the crowd. Some people even relate the numbers to their destiny, which is backed by numerology. Finally, there is a certain status symbol attached to VIP number plates as well. All in all, there are many reasons why the wealthy end up spending more on number plates than the price of most mass market cars.
Costliest Number Plate in India
The auction for the HR88B8888 number plate was held by the Haryana government via an online bidding on the state’s official VIP-number auction portal on Wednesday. The HR 88B represents the Kundli RTO series in the Sonipat district. In the morning, the base amount for the bidders was set to a relatively modest Rs 50,000. Just before noon, the bidding amount crossed Rs 88 lakh. Finally, after an intense day for the 45 participants, the final bid that won the event was for Rs 1.17 Crore. This is the new record for any registration plate in India. In fact, the bidder must make the payment within 5 days. The B in the number gives the illusion of an 8, making the entire number plate full of 8s. 8 is considered auspicious according to numerology.
Prior to this, we saw the number plate KL 07 DG 0007 fetch Rs 45.99 lakh earlier this year. That was the highest bid for a registration plate before the HR88 series broke that record. Digging a bit deeper, I found yet another fancy number plate from Haryana, which went for Rs 37.91 lakh earlier. It read HR22W2222. Clearly, this trend is not new. Still, to see people splurging more than the price of many cars is astonishing. Since we are on this topic, I find it fitting to mention that the most expensive number plate in the world costs Rs 122 Crore. It is the P7 registration plate from Dubai, which was sold at a charity auction in April 2023 run by Emirates Auction.
My View
This instance of someone spending such a colossal amount on number plate of a car indicates how crucial this aspect is for some people. While it is certainly a practice among the ultra elites of the society, to spend over Rs 1.17 Crore is still extremely rare. Nevertheless, I believe that it is just a matter of time before we see even this record break. Let us keep an eye out for more such cases in the future.
Also Read: CA Sues Delhi Government in VIP Number Plate Case
