Quota details of car-buying restriction released

TIANJIN - The northern China municipality of Tianjin will issue a total of 100,000 car license plates via a bidding and lottery system each year, and there will be no quota for government organizations and institutions, the municipality announced over the weekend.

According to the management plan, 60 percent, or 60,000 plates, will be issued via lottery, including 10,000 for fuel-efficient cars and 50,000 for conventional cars. The remaining 40,000 plates for conventional cars will be auctioned.

A total of 88 percent of plates will go to individual car owners, while non-individual applicants, such as companies, will compete for the other 12 percent. No government organizations and institutions in Tianjin will be permitted to apply for new plates.

The Tianjin municipal government announced at 7 pm on the evening of December 15 that the city would impose a quota on its new car license plates, requiring residents to obtain a plate either through auction bidding or lotteries.

The policy, part of the city's efforts to battle congestion and air pollution, took effect just five hours after its announcement, which sparked overnight panic buying in the local car market.

Tianjin has a permanent resident population of over 14 million. Travel speed in downtown areas has slowed 18 percent compared with 2000 levels.