SHENZHEN’S seven notary offices had accepted more than 150,000 applications for car purchases by 6 p.m. Sunday.

    Sunday was the last day of an eight-day period for the offices to accept applications from people who rushed to buy vehicles before 6 p.m. Dec. 29, when the city’s limit on car purchases took effect.

    Shenzhen now caps the number of new cars that can be sold in the city at 100,000 a year, 20,000 of which are slated for electric vehicles. Prospective buyers have to acquire new license plates through lotteries or at auctions.

    The notary offices will review documents submitted by applicants and issue a notary certificate to qualified applicants. People can only apply with a notary certificate for a new license plate, according to yesterday’s report by the Daily Sunshine.

    Notary certificates will be delivered to applicants and related information will be made public at www.szgz.gov.cn and on WeChat at the account“深圳公证处.”

    Shenzhen saw an additional 68,000 vehicles registered in November, which represented an increase of 63 percent compared with November last year, according to official statistics.

    An additional 42,000 vehicles were registered between Dec. 1 and 20, an increase of 132 percent compared with the same period last year. Without a limit on car purchases, it is estimated that the number of registered vehicles in the city would exceed 4 million by the end of 2016.

    (Martin Li)