Premium Saudi number plate fetches SR21 million
Registration plates with single letter, digit generate significant online bids
Cairo: A fancy number plate has fetched a whopping SR21 million at a Saudi government auction, according to media reports.
The auction which kicked off Tuesday via the government e-platform Absher, saw the 1E number plate eventually selling for SR21 million after it was at the centre of 10 adjudications, Saudi news website Akhbar24 reported.
The timeframe for the auction on the plate was extended several times before the highest bid was finally accepted. It was not immediately clear if the price is the highest offered for vehicle number plates in Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, another registration plate with the distinct 33Z fetched SR1.9 million at the same auction.
The buyers’ identities were not revealed.
Premium vehicle registration plates with one and two letters and one or two digits are usually auctioned off via electronic sales in Saudi Arabia.
The Interior Ministry’s Absher platform gives users across Saudi Arabia access to participate in the auction, make their bids and buy the number plates up to grabs without the need to show up in person at the offices of the kingdom’s Saudi General Directorate of Traffic.
Last January, well-known Saudi businessman and Rally champion Yazeed Al Rajhi bought a premium vehicle plate for SR10 million, according to social media reports.
The “1V” number plate generated the highest bidding price exceeding SR10 million reportedly from Al Rajhi at an Absher auction, said Saudi media figure Mohammed Al Daraim at the time.
There was no confirmation from Yazeed, a rally driver and the son of Saudi business tycoon Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi.