Thousands lose in bid to ease traffic
Source: Xinhua |
January 10, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE than 215,000 people had applied for Beijing car licenses by late Saturday night, the deadline for January.
But only a tenth of those will succeed, as only 20,000 license plates are being issued each month in the capital under its new license plate lottery system in a bid to ease traffic.
The new system came into operation on January 1. Applications can be made during the first eight days of any month with a lottery held on the 26th day.
Last year, a record 800,000 new cars came onto Beijing's roads.
In 2004, the city began a series of traffic control measures and invested heavily in public transport. However, measures until now have proved largely ineffective due to the ever increasing number of new cars hitting the road.
"I didn't expect there were still so many people who wanted new cars," said Beijing resident Liu Jie, one of the January applicants.
He was not optimistic about getting a license plate.
Car sales in the city are forecast to drop this year.
Sun Hui, of the China Automobile Dealers Association, predicted that 50 to 80 of the city's 420 car dealerships would be forced to close.
One dealer, surnamed Liu, said he had booked a train ticket to return to his hometown early ahead of the Spring Festival.
"I haven't sold a single car after the New Year's Day. I'd better pack my things and take a holiday," he said.
Sun said car dealerships would have to shift their focus from Beijing to surrounding markets such as those in Tianjin Municipality and Hebei and Shanxi provinces.
This was echoed by Li Feng, executive deputy general manager of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. "Car makers will now have to move to smaller cities," Li said.
Chinese auto makers are readjusting their sales expectations for Beijing. Leading producers - including FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai GM - are still working out their sales targets for this year.
The Chinese government's economic stimulus plan for coping with the global economic downturn boosted car sales over the past two years.
Beijing Municipal Committee of Transport's figures showed in 2009 alone more than 510,000 new cars hit road.
But only a tenth of those will succeed, as only 20,000 license plates are being issued each month in the capital under its new license plate lottery system in a bid to ease traffic.
The new system came into operation on January 1. Applications can be made during the first eight days of any month with a lottery held on the 26th day.
Last year, a record 800,000 new cars came onto Beijing's roads.
In 2004, the city began a series of traffic control measures and invested heavily in public transport. However, measures until now have proved largely ineffective due to the ever increasing number of new cars hitting the road.
"I didn't expect there were still so many people who wanted new cars," said Beijing resident Liu Jie, one of the January applicants.
He was not optimistic about getting a license plate.
Car sales in the city are forecast to drop this year.
Sun Hui, of the China Automobile Dealers Association, predicted that 50 to 80 of the city's 420 car dealerships would be forced to close.
One dealer, surnamed Liu, said he had booked a train ticket to return to his hometown early ahead of the Spring Festival.
"I haven't sold a single car after the New Year's Day. I'd better pack my things and take a holiday," he said.
Sun said car dealerships would have to shift their focus from Beijing to surrounding markets such as those in Tianjin Municipality and Hebei and Shanxi provinces.
This was echoed by Li Feng, executive deputy general manager of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. "Car makers will now have to move to smaller cities," Li said.
Chinese auto makers are readjusting their sales expectations for Beijing. Leading producers - including FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai GM - are still working out their sales targets for this year.
The Chinese government's economic stimulus plan for coping with the global economic downturn boosted car sales over the past two years.
Beijing Municipal Committee of Transport's figures showed in 2009 alone more than 510,000 new cars hit road.
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