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Customer LoginsShanghai tightens controls on bidders for licence plates
The municipal government of Shanghai has enforced new rules dubbed by local media as the most stringent licence-plate restrictions rule so far. Under the new policy, prospective car owners may only enter the bidding system for a licence plate for their new car if they meet four main criteria. These are that they must be legal residents of Shanghai, they must have complete and uninterrupted payments of income tax for the last three years, neither the bidder nor the automobile may have been registered for a licence plate before, and they must not have had any road traffic offences in the year prior to bidding, reports the Global Times.
Significance: The new rules add further stringent requirements to residents of the city who want a city licence plate for a car. The new limits set out by the policy imply that a Shanghai resident cannot own more than one car. The policy states that the bidder cannot have had a registered license plate before, which highlights that each Shanghai resident is only legally able to purchase one licence plate. Meanwhile, the rule on uninterrupted tax contributions or social security payments highlights that all assets used to purchase the vehicle and the licence plate are open to scrutiny, and will end the use of cash raised from non-declared sources. However, the likelihood is that those who either want a second car with a second licence plate will continue to go to neighbouring provinces and purchase the car with a licence plate from that province, although Shanghai traffic laws restrict the use of cars without a Shanghai licence plate from all raised highways during the morning and evening rush hours. There is no change to the quota of licence plates issued per year in Shanghai, which currently stands at 100,000 and was introduced in 2014 (see China: 21 January 2014: Shanghai limits annual licence plate sales to 100,000). There is also no change to the policy under which buyers of pure electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can obtain free licence plates in the city. The new policy is part of the Shanghai government's plan to increase new energy vehicle (NEV) ownership in the city, as Shanghai residents who want a second licence plate can obtain one if they are buying an EV or a PHEV.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.