Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    THE local transportation commission had received 78,000 applications for the first vehicle license plate lottery by Saturday, two days since it started accepting online applications.

    The first license plate lottery is expected to be held in late February or March as the authorities need around a month to examine all applications, the commission said. Qualified applications will be made public Feb. 23.

    The city government announced a new policy that restricts car purchases in December last year, requiring prospective buyers to acquire new license plates through lotteries or at auctions before they buy new cars. Under the new rule, Shenzhen will only issue 100,000 new license plates each year, with 20,000 reserved for new-energy vehicles.

    The monthly number of new license plates to be issued is in sharp contrast with the number of new vehicles sold each month in the previous year. According to statistics from the Shenzhen traffic police bureau, an average of 39,800 vehicles were sold each month between March 2013 and February 2014.

    No more than 40,000 plates will be given out through auctions, while the rest, including the 20,000 reserved for new-energy vehicles, will be issued through lotteries. Separate lotteries will be held for regular cars and new-energy vehicles. Among the 40,000 regular-car plates to be distributed via lotteries, 35,200 are reserved for individual buyers, meaning that fewer than 2,935 individual applicants will be able to buy a new car each month.

    The commission said the quota for January will be distributed evenly throughout February, March and April.

    Residents with hukou and residency card holders who have paid for medical insurance in the city for more than two years are eligible to apply for a license plate through auctions or lotteries.

    The applicants must have a driver’s license and must not possess any vehicles under their names, according to the regulation.

    Applicants who win a license plate through either a lottery or an auction must buy a new car within six months. Anyone who obtains a license plate via a lottery and doesn’t buy a new car will be banned from applying for a new license plate within the next two years.

    The restriction will be implemented for the next five years.

    According to the detailed measures released Friday, the new-energy vehicles include both homemade and imported electric cars and hybrid vehicles powered both by electricity and gasoline.

    “Residents stand a bigger chance to get a license plate if they buy electric vehicles,” considering that electric cars take up a very small portion of cars in the city, said Wang Xue, head of Transportation Research Center with Shenzhen Polytechnics.

    Also, if the ownership of a car is transferred between a couple, the quota doesn’t apply.

    The notary authority urged applicants with falsified documents for new license plates to withdraw their applications yesterday. Those who apply with fake documents will be blacklisted.