AA 13 Dubai number plate sells for Dh4.4million at auction

A total of Dh37m was raised at Grand Hyatt Hotel event

Dubai number plate AA 13 fetched Dh4.42 million at RTA's 110th Open Auction for Distinctive Vehicle Number Plates. Photo: Roads and Transport Authority

A licence plate in Dubai sold for Dh4.4 million ($1.2m) at auction this weekend.

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said the AA 13 registration was the most expensive item sold at its 110th Open Auction for Distinctive Vehicle Number Plates, held at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Hotel on Saturday.

The RTA offered 90 plates for bidding at the event, raising Dh37m.

Plate U 70 sold for Dh3m, Z 1000 was auctioned for Dh2.2m and plate V 99999 fetched Dh1.2m.

Number plates garner huge interest among motoring enthusiasts in the UAE. In 2016, Indian businessman Balwinder Sahni paid Dh33m for plate D5 — thought to be the most expensive sale on record worldwide.

And when buyers are not paying out millions for the privilege of owning premium digits, many opt for cheaper collectors' plates.

In early 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the RTA released a series of number plates with designs to commemorate Expo 2020 Dubai that had been due to start in October of that year.

Cost only Dh200, each featured a logo inspired by a 4,000-year-old gold ring found in the Dubai desert.