‘H’ races to riches: car plate fetches HK$20 million at Hong Kong auction

South China Morning Post · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A personalised car number plate featuring the letter “H” has fetched HK$20 million (US$2.55 million) at a government auction, the fourth-most-expensive one sold in Hong Kong at 4,000 times its reserve price.Other high bids at Sunday’s Chinese New Year auction of vehicle registration marks included the plates “30” at HK$4.55 million, “101” at HK$1.01 million and “2288” at HK$470,000.The single-letter H plate drew the top bid among the 49 plates sold, going to a man who outbid three rivals in a fierce contest that saw more than 50 bids.The rare single-letter plate had an opening price of just HK$5,000 but shot up to HK$5 million on the first bid before three rivals engaged in a fierce battle.It was sold to a middle-aged man in black wearing a face mask and holding a plaque numbered “135”, who brushed off media questions on leaving.Hong Kong allows only 23 English letters for plates, excluding “I”, “O” and “Q” under Transport Department rules.The H plate ranks as the city’s fourth-most-expensive one, trailing the “D” plate’s HK$20.2 million sale in 2024 by just HK$200,000.