Dubai’s BB plate fever: Three number plates fetch Dh13.53m while CC44 leads auction at Dh6.72m

Dubai: What is it about two little letters that makes Dubai’s bidders spending so much?

At the 121st open auction of distinguished vehicle number plates, organised by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Saturday, the answer came in the form of Dh65.721 million in total proceeds.

Plates with the BB code were among the biggest draws. BB18 sold for Dh6.62 million, BB80 fetched Dh5.9 million and BB117 went for Dh1.016 million.

Together, those three BB plates brought in Dh13.536 million.

However, the highest price of the night went to CC44, which sold for Dh6.72 million. BB18 came a close second, just Dh100,000 behind, which shows how fiercely contested the top plates were.

The auction, held at Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City, featured 60 distinguished plates.

They included two-, three-, four- and five-digit combinations across the codes AA, BB, CC, H, U, V, W, X, Y and Z.

The results, according to the RTA, reaffirm the success of its strategy for open and online auctions, which is based on neutrality, transparency and equal opportunities for all participants.

For the buyers, these plates hold symbolic value and reflect their individual preferences, RTA pointed out.

Dubai’s appetite for the BB and CC codes is not new. The previous auction, the 120th, set the bar high. Held on 27 December 2025 at the same venue, Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City, it raised Dh109 million, the highest total ever achieved by the RTA.

BB12 headlined that sale with the evening’s top bid of Dh9.66 million. AA25 followed at more than Dh8.04 million, then BB30 at Dh6.74 million and CC100 at Dh4.21 million. The two BB plates alone brought in Dh16.4 million. A total of 90 plates went under the hammer across the codes AA, BB, CC, K, N, O, R, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z.