THE local transportation commission had received a total of 152,892 applications by Sunday, the deadline for the 11,110 license plate numbers allowed to be issued in March through lotteries and auctions.

    Among the applications, 149,502 are individuals and 3,316 are corporate applications from 2,042 companies. The remaining 74 applications go to social organizations and other organizations, according to the transportation commission announced.

    Two rounds of auctions and lotteries will be held in early March and late March, respectively, because of the Spring Festival holidays.

    A total of 11,110 plate numbers, including 8,888 slated for distribution through lottery and auction and 2,222 for electric vehicles, will be available for the first round of lotteries and auctions in early March, as some of January’s plate numbers have been evenly distributed across February, March and April.

    The eligible applicants will be announced Feb. 23 and the application for plates in April will be organized online between Feb. 23 and March 8.

    The city government announced a new policy with less than a day of warning 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 plate numbers each year, with 20,000 of them reserved for new-energy vehicles.

    Of the 100,000 plate numbers, 40,000 will be given out through auctions, while the rest, including the 20,000 reserved for new-energy vehicles, will be issued through lotteries.

    Among the 40,000 plate numbers for regular vehicles to be given out through lotteries, 88 percent will be given to individuals and the other 12 percent to corporate applicants.

    (Han Ximin, Yi Ran)