Dubai's AA70 plate fetches Dh3.82m as auction raises Dh50m

Ninety sought-after number plates go under the hammer in the emirate

Dubai regularly holds premium number plate auctions amid high demand from motorists. Pawan Singh / The National

Rare number plates went under the hammer in Dubai this weekend and fetched nearly Dh50 million – with the top seller being snapped up for close to Dh4 million.

The distinctive AA70 number plate was sold for Dh3.82 million at Dubai Roads and Transport Authority's latest auction, held on Saturday.

It proved the most lucrative licence plate on the night, edging out X7777 which was purchased for Dh3.8 million, with Z43 (Dh2.85 million), Y96 (Dh2.66 million) and S888 (Dh2.3 million) rounding out the top five.

The overall proceeds of Dh49.7 million represented a 30 per increase in sales on the previous open auction held this year, which brought in Dh38.21 million.

The RTA offered 90 premium plates at the auction, held at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City Hotel, featuring between two and five digits.

Rare number plates and phone numbers regularly go for substantial sums in the UAE.

Auctions often serve as fundraising drives for worthy causes.

In April, a determined Dubai bidder paid a remarkable Dh55 million for the prized number 7 plate in an auction that raised nearly Dh100 million for a Ramadan food appeal.

Sold plates included H31, W78, N41, AA19, AA22, X36, Z37, AA80 and others.

More than Dh97m was raised from the sale of car plates and exclusive mobile phone numbers on the night.

All proceeds from the auction went to the One Billion Meals Endowment campaign, which was launched to boost efforts to combat global hunger.