CHEN HUAN, a saleswoman from Dongyi Auto Market in Luohu District, has been busy handling purchase orders this week that were made before the limit on car purchase took effect Dec. 29. Meanwhile, the reception desk only saw few visitors.

    Chen still remembers the extraordinary scene on the evening of Dec. 29, recalling a customer who climbed over the wall at midnight to make a purchase after the new rules took effect.

    Prior to the policy, Chen would introduce new cars to clients, go through sales procedures and host test-drives all day long. After the new policy was implemented, the city’s auto market has cooled and many second-hand car dealers are having to seek new business opportunities, Shenzhen Evening News reported. According to a rough estimation, the cost of a Shenzhen license plate will increase by 70,000 yuan (US$11,431) in value.

    “As a result of revenue loss, some salespersons will be fired and some will resign to seek a new profession,” said Chen.

    Another sales manager surnamed Hu said hundreds of vehicles stored in garages were ordered in advance. “We don’t have any cars to sell now. This month, we need to complete procedures for the purchased vehicles. After this month, car agencies will make new arrangements according to lottery results,” he said.

    Under the new policy, Shenzhen has capped the number of new cars that can be sold at 100,000 a year, including 20,000 slated for electric vehicles. Car purchasers will have to obtain license plates for the cars they want to buy either by bidding in auctions or participating in lotteries.

    One auto dealer said the quota is too small to cover the current stock of all the car dealerships citywide. They will have to shift their focuses to emerging market needs in surrounding cities, second-hand car exchange businesses and after-sales service.

    At Longzhu Second-hand Auto Market Park, hundreds of vehicles already have plates. Most of these cars have increased in price. A Polo car manufactured in 2012 is listed at 110,000 yuan, a 50 percent markup from before the policy was implemented. “We sold dozens of cars just to collect payments,” said a salesperson.

    “The second-hand car dealers will have to stock cars up. Some will either rent them out or sell those cars to other cities,” said a manager with a second-hand auto agency.

    According to Chen Xiangda, director of the Shenzhen Second-hand Automobile Exchange Association, said there are over 1,000 second-hand car dealers in Shenzhen that employ around 40,000 people with an annual market revenue exceeding 43 billion yuan. “The impact on the market depends on follow-up policies by the government,” he said. (Luo Songsong)