Car number plates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are, on average, worth significantly more than the vehicles they are attached to, with the typical plate valued at around $1.7 million, according to data from BuyAnyCar.
The average car value in Dubai, by comparison, is about $18,000, BuyAnyCar and SellAnyCar founder and CEO Saygin Yalcin told Arabian Business. UAE number plates, he added, have become high-value assets in their own right, driven by demand for low-digit and distinctive registrations.
“This is important and interesting internationally,” Yalcin said. “There are very few markets globally where the number plate is structurally more valuable than the car itself. In the UAE, that is clearly the case.”
This is not limited to the UAE. Across the Gulf, premium number plates have increasingly attracted ultra-high valuations, reflecting their status as symbols of wealth, prestige and individuality. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s coveted ‘1E’ number plate sold for more than SAR 24 million ($6.4 million) after multiple rounds of bidding.
The data comes as BuyAnyCar and its sister platform SellAnyCar launch what they describe as the world’s first instant car number plate buying service, offering customers a guaranteed purchase offer for any UAE licence plate within 30 minutes.
The new service builds on BuyAnyCar’s instant number plate valuation tool, launched a year ago and now embedded in its app. Since launch, the tool has been used more than 4 million times, the company said, giving it one of the largest datasets on plate pricing in the region.
When the valuation tool was first introduced in November last year, BuyAnyCar said it was processing around 50,000 plate checks a day, far exceeding internal expectations and underscoring latent demand in a market that had historically lacked transparency and liquidity.
“We identified a problem in the number plate market,” Yalcin said previously. “People were sitting on value, but it wasn’t liquid.”
In Gulf markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, personalised plates are widely regarded as status symbols or long-term stores of value, particularly for low-digit or highly distinctive combinations.
The business of premium number plates
Based on data collected through the app, Dubai accounts for 55 per cent of number plate valuations in the UAE, followed by Abu Dhabi at 20 per cent. Ajman represents about 6 per cent, with the remainder spread across Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain.
SellAnyCar.com, which has operated car buying services in the UAE for more than a decade, now allows customers to sell both their vehicle and its number plate in a single visit. Customers can receive a free car valuation, a free plate valuation and guaranteed offers for both within 30 minutes at any SellAnyCar branch.
BuyAnyCar has also launched an auction-style marketplace allowing users to sell any plate directly through the app, while continuing to offer free instant valuations so owners can assess their plate’s value before deciding to sell.
The company has positioned the platform as a hedge against vehicle depreciation, noting that while cars typically lose value over time, premium number plates in the UAE have historically appreciated, in some cases significantly.
“You may have lost value on your car,” Yalcin said. “But you could gain more on your number plate.”
In addition, the BuyAnyCar app now provides historical transaction data for vehicles, giving sellers visibility into past sale prices for similar cars – a level of pricing transparency previously associated with the real estate market.
The UAE’s number plate market has long drawn global attention, with premium plates regularly selling for seven- and eight-figure sums at auction, reinforcing their role as alternative assets rather than accessories to vehicles.
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