250 Reg Plates Soon To Be Auctioned

The Licensing Agency, Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), intends to release about 250 licensing plates comprising three, four and five digits of (H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R and S) codes in its forthcoming 48th Online Auction. Registration for the auction opens on Sunday, June 4th, and the auction will start at 08:00 am on Sunday, June 11th and continue for five days.

Sultan Al Marzooki, Director of Vehicles Licensing, RTA Licensing Agency, reported that the intense public participation in open or online auctions and the positive competition for plates was indicative of the importance of these auctions in maximising the happiness and satisfaction of number plate enthusiasts.

He highlighted the importance of online auctions to a large segment of the community who prefer such particular auctions as they find the liberty of selecting their fancied numbers in a hassle-free environment. "These auctions also contribute to enhancing the online services of Vehicles Licensing Department under an annual plan aimed at improving the quality and standard of processing transactions of the public," he commented.

"The participation in the Auction requires depositing a security cheque amounting Dh5,000 plus Dh120 as participation fees. Registration of bidders will be at RTA's Customers Happiness Centers at Umm Al Romool, Bur Dubai, and Deira as well as Al Tawar Municipal Centre. Deposits could be made via credit card if registration was made online through RTA website ( www.rta.ae ).

"The successful bidder has to pay the due amounts within ten working days from the Auction Closing Date. The Department shall refund deposits to customers, in the same method they were paid. Conditions of the auction stipulate that the bidder must have a vehicle registered in Dubai or a driver license issued from Dubai," added Al Marzooki.

"A team from RTA's Call Center has been furnished with all information related to the auction, and stands ready to respond to any public inquiries made through the toll-free number 8009090 about procedures of participation or payment," he concluded.

So what are the top selling number plates in the UK? The DVLA has been selling private plates to UK motorists since 1989. During this time, there have been a number of records set, but most of the top 10 have been bought in the past 15 years. Here’s what currently makes the list:

25 0 – A Ferrari dealer bought this for £518k in 2014. It is now on a £10 million Ferrari 250 SWB.
F 1 – A businessman, Afzal Khan, bought this for £440k in 2008 and put it on his McLaren-Mercedes SLR.
S 1 – This was bought in 2008 for £404k by an anonymous buyer.
1 D – Businessman Nabil Bishara bought this plate in 2009 (before One Direction was formed, so it is not a reference to the band) for £352k.
M 1 – Businessman Mike McCoomb bought this number plate in 2006 for £331k, apparently for his son, who was 10 at the time.
VIP 1 – Chelsea owner and businessman Roman Abramovich bought this plate for £285k in 2006.
51 NGH – This number plate, which looks like the surname Singh, was sold in 2006 for £254k.
1 RH – Businessman Robert Haverson bought this in 2006 for £247k.
K1 NGS – This reg plate, which looks like the word “kings”, was bought anonymously in 1993 for £231k.
1 0 – This very simple but striking number plate was bought anonymously in 2009 for £170k.

These are large amounts of money, but they are all small compared to the top-selling number plates found in other parts of the world. Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, has the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold. That number plate was a simple “1”. It was bought in 2008 by businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.25 million.

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