Shijiazhuang may become fifth city in China to restrict new automobile purchases

Hebei's capital of Shijiazhuang may be joining the list of cities in China limiting new automobile purchases. According to a report appearing the National Business Daily today, the government of Shijiazhuang has issued new legislation to combat pollution in the city. Among the measures listed to deal with air pollution, restrictions on new automobile purchases and driving times were mentioned. If Shijiazhuang does indeed adopt a policy limiting the number of new car sales, it will be the fifth Chinese city to have done so, following Shanghai, Beijing, Guiyang and Guangzhou.

According to the legislation, households will be prohibited from purchasing a third passenger automobile as of 2013. Furthermore, new restrictions limiting the days on which vehicles can be driven depending on their license plate numbers will be initiated the following year. The legislation outlines that Shijiazhuang's goal is to keep the total number of automobiles in the city below the 1.9 million mark at the end of 2013, with annual growth capped at 100,000 vehicles until 2015 and 90,000 vehicles afterwards. The government states that it is aiming to enforce stricter rules to increase the barrier of entry to owning a car.

The legislation also mandates the removal of certain antiquated, high fuel-emission automobile models. According to it, over 10,000 of such vehicles will be removed from the city's streets by the end of this year. According to the prescribed timeline, by 2017, there will be no such automobiles in use in Shijiazhuang.

China Automobile Dealers Association Deputy Secretary General Luo Lei has spoken out against the legislation, saying that policies that restrict new automobile sales hinder the development of the automotive market. He points out that there are several cities worldwide with one or two million vehicles on their roads and yet boast reasonable traffic without resorting to the sort of policies that Shijiazhuang is considering. However, other analysts have pointed out that such policies are a natural response against the increasingly severe pollution Chinese cities are having to deal with.