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Secondhand car plates join auction in November

2014-09-30 09:03 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Qian Ruisha
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Motorists will no longer be able to sell their car license plates privately from November, under new city rules.

Instead, sales of secondhand plates will be brought into the same auction system for new plates on November 1, the Shanghai Transport Commission said yesterday.

Plate owners will receive the average price paid at auction — usually less than they would get from selling privately.

The authorities did not say how many more plates this is expected to bring to the auction, where demand massively exceeds supply.

This new policy aims to crack down on agents making profits through reselling, as well as raising the chances of bidders in the monthly plate auction, the commission said.

Most car owners wanting to sell their license plates will have to hand in plate ownership proof materials to the Shanghai International Commodity Auction Co.

Exceptions have been made for when a plate owner or organization changes name; when a plate is transferred to a direct family member; or when the plate owning company is involved in an amalgamation or division and requires a redistribution of property.

The policy issued by the Shanghai Transport Commission, the Shanghai Commerce Commission and the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, will run until October 2016.

The quota of secondhand plates for the monthly auction and management rules will be issued later, said officials.

Currently, secondhand plates are sold privately — with a vehicle or separately — usually fetching more than the cost of a new plate.

A price ceiling has reined in plate auction prices, with the average price being 73,875 yuan (US$12,006) this month.

In comparison, secondhand plate agents have been buying plates for 90,000 to 100,000 yuan, and selling them on for several thousand yuan more.

Prices reached a record high of more than 120,000 yuan months ago.

Some motorists who already have a license plate also try to make a quick buck by attempting to buy plates at auction and then selling their old ones.

This places further pressure on the auction system at which only 7,400 to 8,300 plates are available each month, say officials.

The chances of getting a new car plate at auction reached an all-time low of 5.5 percent in June, with 135,677 bidders for 7,400 plates.

A secondhand car plate agent in Zhabei District told Shanghai Daily yesterday that they are winding up the business.

"We have been informed of the new policy, and our business will carry on until the middle of October," said the car plate agent surnamed Yu.

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