Haryana’s VIP plate HR88B8888 sells for a record Rs 1.17 crore, marking India’s costliest number plate amid rising demand for premium registrations. Photo: X.
Costliest Car Number Plate: Haryana grabbed headlines on Wednesday as a VIP vehicle registration number, HR88B8888, was sold for a record Rs 1.17 crore in an online auction, setting a national benchmark for India’s priciest number plate. According to reports, the auction on the government’s Fancy Number portal saw 45 bidders compete fiercely for the coveted plate. The bidding began at Rs 50,000 and escalated rapidly throughout the day. By noon, the price had surged to Rs 88 lakh, before finally closing at Rs 1.17 crore at 5 p.m.
This latest record follows the recent sale of HR22W2222, which fetched Rs 37.91 lakh in last week’s auction.
The registration number HR88B8888 gained attention for its distinctive visual appeal. Its composition is as follows:
HR: Haryana’s state code
88: Code for the Regional Transport Office
B: Vehicle series indicator
8888: Unique four-digit sequence
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Experts note that the prominence of the number eight, combined with the ‘B’ resembling an eight, contributes to its allure as a VIP and premium registration number.
Haryana conducts weekly auctions for VIP and fancy vehicle numbers. The application window opens every Friday at 5 p.m. and closes on Monday at 9 a.m., with bidding concluding on Wednesday at 5 p.m., when results are officially declared.
The fascination with exclusive numbers is not limited to Haryana. Earlier this year, Kerala-based tech entrepreneur Venu Gopalakrishnan acquired the plate KL 07 DG 0007 for his Lamborghini Urus Performante at Rs 45.99 lakh, in a fiercely contested auction that began at Rs 25,000.
The number ‘0007’, a nod to James Bond, showed the buyer’s status in Kerala’s luxury car market, symbolizing exclusivity and prestige.
A Times of India report from September reports a growing trend. Between January 2020 and July 2025, Chandigarh saw 12 single-digit VIP number plates auctioned, with final prices often far exceeding the value of the vehicles they adorned.
One extreme case from April 2022 involved a buyer paying Rs 15.44 lakh for a number plate fitted to a two-wheeler costing just Rs 55,585, nearly 28 times the vehicle’s price.
Similar examples include:
June 2024: Two-wheeler worth Rs 59,336 paired with a plate auctioned for Rs 4.95 lakh
August 2023: Vehicle priced at Rs 64,024 matched with a number fetching Rs 5.75 lakh
In total, nine two-wheelers, all under Rs 1.28 lakh in value, received single-digit numbers sold between Rs 1.70 lakh and the record Rs 15.44 lakh.
Unverified reports indicate that the plate HR88B8888 is registered under the Kundli office in Sonipat district, Haryana. The winning bidder, Sudhir Kumar from Hisar, is required to pay the full amount to claim ownership of the plate.
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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