Shenzhen will increase the car license plate quota by 40,000 a year between 2019 and 2020 starting this month, according to a release by Shenzhen’s transport bureau yesterday.
The 40,000 plate increase this year will be evenly divided between June and December, and shared by individual applicants who snap up 88 percent and corporate applicants that will take the remaining 12 percent.
Among the 40,000 plates, 10,000 will be given out through lotteries and 30,000 will be distributed through auctions.
At the beginning of 2015, Shenzhen set an annual 80,000 license plate quota in its move to relieve congestion and the worsening traffic situation.
According to an earlier report, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released a document this April to seek suggestions on promoting the recycling economy. In the document, NDRC required the cities that had imposed restrictions to lift the restrictions by increasing their quotas by between 50 percent and 100 percent in 2019 and 2020, respectively, over the base of the number in 2018.
The lifting of Shenzhen’s rule also follows Guangdong’s action plan to further improve and advance consumption systems and mechanisms. The action plan released by the Guangdong Provincial Government last month targeted prominent problems that hinder consumption and put forward 29 measures addressing nine aspects to stimulate consumption.
Among them, the plan says that Guangzhou and Shenzhen will gradually lift quota restrictions on vehicles and expand their capacity for purchases for vehicles.
Under the lifted rule, individual applicants can acquire 4,190 plates and 6,704 plates a month through lotteries and monthly auctions, respectively, this year.
The quota for corporate applicants will be increased to 1,458 from the present 800.
Vehicles must meet the national VI emission standard to be eligible for license plates.
The city currently has 3.41 million vehicles.