UAE businessman pays $8.4m for Abu Dhabi No 1 car plate

A limited edition single digit Abu Dhabi license plate was sold for 31 million dirhams ($8.4 million) at an auction on Saturday to an Emirati businessman who paid six times more than the reserve price.

Emirati businessman Abdullah al-Mehri, 32, expressed his excitement at becoming the winning bidder of the desired plate, printed with the number one, Al Arabiya reports.

“I’m so excited that I won plate number 1, it feels amazing and I was willing to pay any amount to get the plate number. I often come to auctions like this and fetch the most unique numbers at the highest bids,” he is quoted as telling the Gulf News.

He told another local newspaper that he purchased the plate in honor of the UAE’s rulers, who spare no effort in seizing the top rankings for their country.

Al-Mehri competed with local and expat bidders at the Vanity Number Plate Auction hosted by Emirates Auction in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Police.

Abu Dhabi plate number one was previously sold at 52.2 million dirhams to an Emirati businessman in 2008, setting a record of being the costliest plate number in the UAE.

Last month, an Indian businessman based in Dubai made waves in the local media by bidding for Dubai number plate D5 for 33 million dirhams ($8.98 million).