Guangzhou, Shenzhen encouraged to increase quotas of car license plate lottery

Guangdong provincial government will push eligible regions to launch the subsidy policies for promoting the scrapping and replacement of old and used motor vehicles, according to a governmental file issued on Feb. 21.

Meanwhile, local governments of Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be encouraged to further increase the quotas of public lottery and auction for consumers to get new car-license plates.

The issuance came after China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) revealed one day earlier that it will make joint efforts with relevant authorities to draw up and promulgate the policies that help stabilize automobile consumption, so as to mitigate the impact from coronavirus outbreak.

Due to the Spring Festival holiday and the coronavirus outbreak, China’s auto market was hit by an estimated sales drop of 18% compared to the year-ago period. As the fight against the epidemic still continues, the auto spending will be temporarily curbed on account of the extended shutdown of auto sales outlets and suppressed car-shopping desire for consumers.

To promptly help the market get recovery, both central and local governments are hampering out plans to boost vehicle transaction. Foshan, a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, leads country in launching substantial policies and incentives to encourage people to buy more cars. Local government announced that a consumer who buys vehicles that meet the China Ⅵ emission standard will be granted subsidy of RMB2,000-5,000 per vehicle.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, some cities have rolled out similar policies to unleash the pent-up consumer demands. On September 12, municipal government of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, announced the decision about abolishing the provisional regulations on administration of passenger car license plates, which came into effect on September 10.

The issuance of the decision indicates that consumers in Guiyang can buy cars without being hampered by a license-plate lottery.

Moreover, Guiyang government also determined to significantly increase the 2019 quota of license plates by over 30,000 units from the full-year volume of 2018.