Haryana’s HR88B8888 becomes India’s costliest number plate at Rs 1.17 cr

New Delhi: A car registration number from Haryana has set a national record after being auctioned for Rs 1.17 crore on Wednesday, making HR88B8888 the most expensive vehicle number sold in India to date. The number was among several VIP plates listed in the state’s weekly online auction, which is conducted entirely through the portal fancy.parivahan.gov.in.

The process opens every Friday at 5 pm, allowing applicants to select and bid for a number of their choice until Monday 9 am. Participants then enter competitive bidding until the auction closes on Wednesday at 5 pm. Officials noted that HR88B8888 attracted the most attention this week, with 45 bidders entering the race. Starting at a base price of Rs 50,000, the bid cost surged rapidly through the day, touching Rs 88 lakh at 12 pm and eventually closing at the record price.

What sets HR88B8888 apart is its visual symmetry. According to transport officials, the uppercase letter B appears similar to the number eight, giving the sequence the appearance of five continuous eights. The combination includes the state code HR for Haryana, 88 as the Regional Transport Office allocation, B as the series designation and 8888 as the unique four-digit selection.

Previous high-value auctions have fetched substantial amounts but did not approach this week’s figure. Just last week, HR22W2222 was sold for Rs 37.91 lakh. Earlier in April, Kerala-based tech billionaire Venu Gopalakrishnan purchased another premium number, KL 07 DG 0007, for Rs 45.99 lakh for his Lamborghini Urus Performante. That auction opened at Rs 25,000 and witnessed swift increments before the final bid was confirmed. Officials described the 0007 sequence as desirable among collectors, linked in popular culture to the James Bond spy code, and seen as a status symbol in Kerala’s luxury vehicle market.