A glance at our table of the world's most expensive private plates shows the UAE's overwhelming domination when it comes to spending big money on private car registrations. On Saturday 8th April, a charity auction in Dubai achieved yet another price record for our friends in Western Asia. The registration number P 7 sold for Dh55 million in Emirati currency, which is over £12 million sterling.
Asian news networks are reporting that the previous record holder was P 1, which sold in 2008 for AED 52.2 million (£7.25 million). However, when prices are converted to British pounds at the exchange rates that were current at the time, the previous record holder is AA 9, which sold for AED 38 million (£7.6 million) in 2021. So, it all depends on where you are and which currency you use when expressing the values.
The buyer of P 7 wished to remain anonymous but some sources have reported that the number plate was purchased with the intention of displaying it on a Bugatti.
World domination in a good cause
Dubai and Abu Dhabi now occupy the whole of the top 10 chart of the world's most expensive plates, with five entries each. Dubai takes the top four places and seventh place with the rest of the top 10 going to their Emirati neighbours. When we look at the top 20, we see UAE takes 16 spots compared to Hong Kong's three places and Australia's one.
Saturday's "Most Noble Numbers" auction was a charity event and 100% of the revenue will go to The 1 Billion Meals Endowment Fund, an Emirati charity that aims to provide a food safety net for the world’s most underprivileged populations, especially in countries struggling with food insecurity. It also aims to support vulnerable groups, especially victims of natural disasters, conflicts and crises around the world. The campaign is is an expansion of the UAE’s previous Ramadan campaigns “1 Billion Meals”, “100 Million Meals” and “10 Million Meals” which were launched under directives from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Must try harder?
The UK's highest entry in the world's most expensive rankings doesn't appear until number 42. That brave British representative is, of course, the excellent 25 O, bought by Ferrari dealer John Collins for over half a million pounds back in 2014.
Naturally, with tongue firmly in cheek, we should appeal to your patriotic spirit and point out that the honour of the UK is at stake. We should encourage you to search our website for your perfect plate, to reach for your cheque books and banking apps and to bring the most expensive plates title home to Britain. However, when one considers the excellent cause to which the auction money is being donated, we must, instead, congratulate the UAE on their remarkable achievement and humanitarian efforts.
