Abu Dhabi Number 1 car plate sells for Dhs31m

A limited edition Abu Dhabi Number 1 car licence plate was sold for Dhs31m in an auction in the UAE capital on Saturday.

The plate was bought by Emirati businessman Abdullah Al Mahri, 32, who told local reporters that he bought it in honour of the country’s rulers.

The vanity number plate auction was hosted by Emirates Auction along with Abu Dhabi Police and was held to commemorate the Abu Dhabi government’s golden jubilee.

In total, the auction featured 50 number plates and saw sales of over Dhs99m.

⭐️⭐️ . في اطار فعالية مزاد الارقام المميزة الذي نظمته شرطة ابوظبي بالتعاون مع الامارات للمزادات في قصر الامارات تم بيع 50 لوحة سيارة مميزة من فئة 50 في إصدار خاص بمناسبة اليوبيل الذهبي لحكومة ابوظبي . #حكومة_أبوظبي #مزادات_الامارات #شرطة_ابوظبي #الفئة50 #سيارات #ارقام_سيارات #مميزة #تميز #مزاد #قصر_الامارات #امارات #اماراتي #اليوبيل_الذهبي ‏#car #ad #abudhabi #ADjubilee #inuae #inabudhabi #uae

A video posted by الامارات للمزادات (@emiratesauction) on Nov 19, 2016 at 11:37am PST

Apart from No 1, the other number plates that fetched high winning bids included No 7 (Dhs13.4m), No 11 (Dhs6.1m), No 66 (Dhs4.3m) and No 111(Dhs2.3m).

The auction of exclusive number plates garners strong interest in the UAE.

Earlier this year, a Dubai-based Indian businessman bought the D5 number plate for Dhs33m in what was described as the biggest auction in the Roads and Transport Authority’s history.

Balwinder Sahani, owner of property management firm RSG International, beat competition from other VIPs to secure the plate after paying Dhs25m for the number O9 last year.

Read: Video: Dubai businessman pays nearly $9m for a number plate

Other record UAE plate sales in the past include Number 1, sold in June for Dhs18m to Emirati businessman Arif Al Zarooni in Sharjah.

The country’s costliest plate is believed to be the Number 1 licence plate in Abu Dhabi, which was sold for Dhs52.2m to Emirati businessman Saeed Al Khouri in 2008.