SHENZHEN, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen Friday said the newly increased 40,000 car license plates will be made available to citizens between June and August, earlier than the previously announced June to December.
The move is a response to a central government call to ease vehicle purchase restrictions in a bid to boost vehicle sales in a sluggish market.
Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, earlier capped the annual license plate quota at 80,000 for each of 2019 and 2020. Earlier this month, local authorities announced plans to add 40,000 vehicle plates in both 2019 and 2020.
Ten-thousand will be offered through a license plate lottery system and the rest by auction.
Early this year, 10 central government commissions and ministries urged big cities to ease vehicle purchase restrictions to boost vehicle sales amid a spate of policies to promote stable consumption growth.
A number of cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, have license plate restrictions for locally registered vehicles in an attempt to control vehicle use and tackle traffic jams.
Authorities in Guangzhou have also announced plans to increase the quota of car license plates by 100,000 from June to December next year, with half for auction by potential petrol car buyers, and the other half for lottery by potential new-energy vehicle buyers. Earlier it capped the quota at 120,000 per year.
