Shenzhen explains abrupt limit on car purchase

At 17:40 pm on Monday, Shenzhen announced restrictions on buying new cars, saying it will cap the number of new cars sold in the city at 100,000 a year, with 20 percent of them specially allocated to electric cars.

The regulation took effect at 18:00 pm on Monday, 20 minutes after it was announced. The move was a clear reversal to its previously stated stance.

Hearing the news, many rushed to car dealers but found the outlets blocked by police and within 20 minutes the dealerships were sealed off.

But that didn't deter some as they rushed to place orders and splashed out wads of cash on down payment.

The course of the events seems just like what the authorities foresaw.

If the regulation was announced in advance, it would have resulted in panic buying and that would have defeated the whole purpose of the policy, reported the official micro blog of People's Daily quoting the Shenzhen government.

The public was not convinced by the explanation and a heated discussion began happening on Sina Weibo, China's popular microblogging service.

Shenzhen residents rush for purchasing cars before new rule

Shenzhen residents swarm into 4S shops (authorized franchises offer sales, spare parts, services and surveys) to pay deposits before the new auto purchase restriction policy comes into force at 6 pm, Dec 29, 2014.