Beijing to Cut New Car Limit to 100,000 Per Year

The value of a Beijing license plate is about to go up, as officials plan to reduce the number of new vehicles permitted each year.

With a goal of no more than 6.3 million cars on Beijing roads by 2020, Beijing transport regulators plan to reduce the number of new plates issued every year from 150,000 to 100,000. With an estimated 5.6 million cars on the road at the end of 2020, the 6.3 million target still gives the municipal government a few hundred thousand vehicles worth of wiggle room.

New license plates for non-commercial vehicles are issued via a once-in-a-lifetime lottery system. In other words, prospective automobile owners who enter the lottery must purchase their car within 30 days of authorization being issued (which is not the same as authorization being received), or lose eligibility to do so forever. Yes, it's a harsh system. It also means that if you have your heart set on a new Mercedes, you'd better sit around with enough to buy one in the bank just in case your number comes up.

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On another note, voting is still open for the Final Four round in this year's Pizza Cup. Read the voting process here or head straight to the voting page by scanning/extracting the QR code below. Voting for this round closes on November 3 (Thursday) at 2pm.