Haryana has set a new national benchmark in VIP vehicle-number auctions, with the registration plate HR88B8888 fetching an astonishing Rs 1.17 crore, officially becoming the costliest car registration number ever sold in India.
The number was auctioned on Wednesday during the state’s weekly online bidding for premium and fancy plates.
Haryana conducts these auctions digitally on the fancy.parivahan.gov.in portal. Applications open every Friday at 5 pm and close on Monday at 9 am, after which bidding continues until Wednesday 5 pm.
This week, HR88B8888 emerged as the most sought-after number, receiving 45 applications. The bidding began at a base price of Rs 50,000, skyrocketing through the day. By 12 pm on Wednesday, the bid had already touched Rs 88 lakh, before finally settling at Rs 1.17 crore at the close.
Officials attribute the number’s massive appeal to its unique pattern — a continuous sequence of eights. The inclusion of the letter ‘B’, which resembles the number “8”, made the plate look like an unbroken string of 8s. Such combinations are highly prized among numerology believers and luxury car owners, who consider them symbols of luck, prosperity, and status.
The winning bidder must now pay the full amount within five days to secure the number. Once the payment is made, the HR88B8888 plate will be allocated to a vehicle registered at the Kundli RTO.
Just last week, another premium number, HR22W2222, was sold for Rs 37.91 lakh, highlighting the growing demand for fancy registration plates in the country.
