Meet Sudhir Kumar, Haryana man who bought India's costliest number plate for Rs 1.17 crore

The number plate 'HR88B8888' has officially become India's most expensive car registration number after the auction bid closed at Rs 1.17 crore on Wednesday in Haryana.

This week, the number drew the highest participants among all plates up for bidding, with 45 bidders in total. The base bidding price was set at Rs 50,000 and had already reached Rs 88 lakh by noon. It kept increasing with each passing minute before settling on Rs 1.17 crore at 5 pm. 

Last week, the registration number 'HR22W2222' fetched Rs 37.91 lakh.

The auction for VIP and special series vehicle registration numbers is through the official portal, fancy.parivahan.gov.in. The bidding window opens on Friday at 5 pm and closes on Monday at 9 am, following which the results are announced on Wednesday at 5 pm.

According to a TOI report, the bidder paid only Rs 11,000, including Rs 1,000 registration fee and Rs 10,000 security deposit. The auction would repeatedly only be completed once he deposits the full bid amount. He will have at least five days to pay the full amount.

Who is Sudhir Kumar?

According to HT, India's costliest car registration number, 'HR88B8888', was reportedly purchased by Hisar-based businessman Sudhir Kumar for Rs 1.17 crore. The 30-year-old said he is into multiple businesses -- the transport business, has a software company and a transport-related mobile app for commercial transportation. 

“I had not kept any specific amount in mind and liked the number and just went ahead,” the 30-year-old bidder told PTI.

“I was not expecting that this bid would generate such hype. We are in the transport business. We also have a software company, and we are into developing a transport-related mobile app for commercial transportation, and this business is in its early phase,” he added.

What does HR88B8888 mean?

HR88B8888 is a unique vehicle number or VIP number purchased at a premium through bidding. HR is the state code, indicating that the vehicle is registered in Haryana. 88 represents the specific Regional Transport Office (RTO) or district in Haryana where the car is registered. B indicates the vehicle series code within a specific RTO. 8888 is the unique, four-digit registration number assigned to the vehicle. The speciality of this number plate is that it resembles a series of eights: the capital 'B' resembles an eight, and only one digit is repeated.

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