India’s most expensive number plate ‘DDC 001’ sells for Rs 2.08 crore at a Big Boy Toyz auction, setting a new national record. Photo: X.
Indian vehicle owners continue to show a growing fascination with exclusive registration numbers, with fresh reports emerging each year of car and bike owners paying hefty sums for premium number plates. A new report claims that a car owner has bought a vehicle registration number ‘DDC 001’ for Rs 2.08 crore, making it the most expensive number plate ever auctioned in the country.
The record-breaking transaction took place during the launch of Auction House by Big Boy Toyz, an event that quickly drew attention not just to the platform but to the extraordinary valuation of the vintage registration number.
According to Cartooq, the registration plate ‘DDC 001’ was previously owned by Jatin Ahuja, founder and managing director of Big Boy Toyz. At the auction, the winning bid of Rs 2.08 crore was placed by Kiran Kolipakula, a buyer from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to Cartooq, Ahuja noted that interest is no longer limited to luxury vehicles alone but has expanded to rare and valuable assets associated with automobiles.
“When assets of this value are involved, credibility, verification and transparency become central to buyer confidence,” Ahuja said, adding that the auction highlighted how collectors across regions are willing to pay a premium for authenticity and trust.
The Rs 2.08 crore sale comfortably eclipsed all previous records.
Until late last year, the title of India’s most expensive number plate was held by ‘HR88B8888’, which fetched Rs 1.17 crore at an official government auction in November. That sale had already drawn attention to the intense demand for distinctive combinations, particularly those featuring repeating digits.
Before that, the benchmark belonged to ‘KL 07 DG 0007’, which was sold for Rs 46 lakh. The plate was purchased by Venu Gopalakrishnan, founder of Litmus7, for his Lamborghini Urus Performante, valued at around Rs 6.6 crore. At the time, the transaction attracted widespread attention due to the sharp contrast between the cost of the plate and the already premium price of the vehicle.
Kiran Kolipakula, a businessman from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, emerged as the owner of India’s costliest registration number after placing the winning bid of Rs 2.08 crore for the premium number ‘DDC 0001’ at the auction.
The purchase instantly sparked conversation online, particularly after it emerged that Kolipakula bought the registration number for his Maruti Suzuki Ignis, a car priced at around Rs 6 lakh.
The contrast between the modest vehicle and the price paid for the number plate left many netizens questioning why such a significant sum was spent on a registration number.
The auction was held during the launch of Auction House by Big Boy Toyz, which the company describes as “India’s first premium destination for high-value collectors.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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