Vanity Plates Flaunt Vanity Wealth

Single digit license plates can command high prices at auction

After real estate in terms of square footage and location, Hong Kong vanity license plates are another way to show off one's wealth. With a car, everyone around town can see how much you spent on the plates. And the fewer letters or numbers the better.

Forty-nine plates went under the hammer on Sunday at an annual Lunar New Year auction held by the Transport Department. And it seems that even though the local economy is struggling, the uber wealthy have no problems shelling out for vanity plates.

Lucky numbers are also in high demand

One that just had the letter "S" went for HK$14.2 million, while "88" was sold for HK$11.4 million.

Bids for the letter "S" started at HK$5,000, but a prospective bidder cut to the chase and offered HK$8 million as soon as bidding started. 

Single-letter plates are considered a sign of status and "S" is closely related to the Superman logo. There were already predictions ahead of the auction that this plate would go for around HK$10 million.

Meanwhile the digits "88" had the second-highest price, with bidding lasting for 13 minutes.

Another plate, "183" went for HK$725,000, while "BB18" was sold for HK$430,000.

To put these auction prices into perspective, he most expensive license plate in Hong Kong is the letter "W" at a whopping HK$26 million in 2021, and "R" was HK$25.5 million in 2023. 

When it comes to just numbers, someone paid HK$18.1 million for the plate "28". 

Only in Hong Kong...