Text: | Print|

Car plate prices fall 3.4% after ceiling returns

2014-01-19 10:39 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Si Huan
1

Shanghai car plate prices fell more than 3 percent at the first auction of the year on Saturday, after the authorities reintroduced a fixed price ceiling for first-round bids.

And in another initiative to cool prices, separate auctions have been introduced for private motorists and organizations, as the latter are often less price sensitive.

Yesterday, the average price of a Shanghai license plate for private car owners dropped to 73,501 yuan (US$12,049), down 2,592 yuan, or 3.4 percent, from last month.

The lowest winning bid fell 2,500 yuan to 73,500 yuan, the Shanghai International Commodity Auction Co said.

The number of bidders increased ahead of the Spring Festival holiday to 41,946, compared to 39,625 last month.

The city government had earlier announced a 72,600 yuan ceiling for first-round bids in 2014, set according to the lowest ceiling last year.

First-round bids serve as a gauge for second-round bids.

Last year, the introduction of a first-round price ceiling brought down plate prices from a record high of more than 90,000 yuan in March.

In October, a more flexible arrangement was introduced on a trial basis, with a ceiling only to be triggered by steep price hikes. But that month, prices soared 14 percent — the first rise in seven months.

A total of 9,000 car plates — 8,100 for individuals and 900 for organizations — were available this month.

The auction for organizations will be held tomorrow and has no price ceiling. But the average plate price for private motorists — 73,501 yuan this month — will be the floor price.

The city announced an annual quota of 100,000 car plates for 2014, with 9,000 plates for auction in January, April and September to meet holiday demand. For the rest of the year, 8,000 plates will be available each month.

Some 10 percent of the quota will be sold to organizations.

Comments (0)
Most popular in 24h
  Archived Content
Media partners:

Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.