THE city government is auctioning its third batch of official vehicles online at www.szmp123.com today.

    Among the 203 vehicles, 102 are five-seaters, the others are light trucks, passenger cars and vans.

    Shenzhen initiated official vehicle reform earlier this year by offering subsidies to government employees and auctioning official vehicles.

    In the first two rounds of auctions, 332 vehicles were auctioned and the city earned 17 million yuan (US$2.79 million).

    The first batch of 100 official vehicles was auctioned online June 28, bringing in 6.88 million yuan for the city.

    Though the exact number of official vehicles in Shenzhen is not made known to the public, a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily in 2012, quoting government officials, estimated that there are 31,000 official vehicles in the city, including 20,000 vehicles for government and law enforcement agencies.

    Another estimate by local Chinese media put the number at around 9,500, spread across 93 institutions, and said the operation cost for each vehicle is 40,000 yuan a year on average.(Han Ximin)