800 fewer car plates for May auction

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May 15, 2014

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By Ma Yue | May 15, 2014, Thursday |

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COMPETITION for Shanghai car plates is expected to be fierce this month as the number up for auction has been cut by 800 from April.

Private motorists will fight it out for a total of 7,400 car plates on May 24, compared to 8,200 up for grabs last month.

A separate auction takes place for business buyers.

The percentage of successful bids dropped to a record low of 8.7 percent last month, while the number of bidders surged to 94,241.

Demand was driven partly by owners of non-Shanghai registered National IV emission standard cars, said industry insiders.

They could not change them to a Shanghai car plate once National V emission standards came into force this month in the city.

Vehicles without a Shanghai license plate are not allowed on elevated highways during rush hours.

The price ceiling mechanism will still set a 72,600 yuan (US$11,664) limit for first-round bids.

The average price for a private plate was 74,113 yuan last month.

It has been reported that the city traffic authority is studying the feasibility of removing the price ceiling mechanism given the high demand.

For while the mechanism has brought down plate price, bidders are now mainly relying on luck to secure a plate.

Metro Society