TIPS | Foreigner’s Guide for Buying a Car in China

Foreigner’s Guide for Buying a Car in China

As a foreigner in China, you too can purchase a car of your own. We’ve put together a guide for foreigners about how to buy a car in China.

01

Get a Chinese driver's license before purchasing

Prior to buying a car in China foreigners must get a People's Republic of China (PRC) driver's license, as foreign or international licenses do not allow the holders to drive in the country.(You may refer to our previous article: TIP | How to get a driver's license in China as a foreigner?)

02

Purchase the vehicle at a reliable shop

Normally, expats need to provide Passport and valid visa and residence permit when buying a car.

03

Complete registration of the vehicle

According to Registration Measures of Motor Vehicles in the People’s Republic of China (decree no. 56), the documents required for the registration of a motor vehicle are as follows:

1. Original and photocopy of owner's identification document:

   A. Foreigner's identification document held at entry to China, including passports, other travel documents, valid visas or residence permits for more than six months, and residence registration certificates issued by public security officials.

   B. The ID cards of foreign embassies and representatives of international organizations which are validated and issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. The official portrait of the applying vehicle      

3. The origin proof of the motor vehicle, except those vehicles supervised by the customs

4. The qualification certificate of finished vehicles for the homemade motor vehicles and importing proof for imported vehicles.

5. The certificate of purchase tax payment or exemption.
   

With a PRC driver’s license and the above documents, go to your local Vehicle Administration Office(车管所) for the registration.

04

Get a license plate before hitting the road

It’s not that hard to get a car, however, getting a license plate and legally driving your new vehicle is a different story, especially if you are in certain cities that are trying to curb car use: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macao and Hong Kong. In fact, some of those cities allow people to get their license plates before they get their cars, because the situation is so difficult!

A normal car registration process and license plate application procedure on the Chinese mainland goes like this: 

1. Pay vehicle purchasing tax at the State Taxation Bureau. The amount is 10 percent of the vehicle’s price.

2. Buy Compulsory Traffic Insurance. This can be purchased in the automobile store where you bought your car, or from insurance companies, insurance agencies or independent insurance agents. 

3. Go to your local Vehicle Administration Office (VAO) to get your car inspection patch and inspection certificate (the document that confirms what the inspectors found when examining your vehicle); you can read more about the inspection process, including VAO addresses, here. 

4. While at the local Vehicle Administration Office, hand in the receipt (or “fapiao“) that you got when purchasing your car, the tax receipt, inspection certificate, the receipt of your Compulsory Traffic Insurance, and your personal ID to the license plate application window. 

5. You will be given an application form to fill in; do so and choose a license number. You will also be given the choice of having your license plate delivered by mail or collecting them from the office yourself. 

6. You will then have a wait for about a month for your plate to arrive. In the meantime, you can also apply for a temporary plate at the VAO. These are sheets of paper with random license numbers printed on them that must be placed in your car windows. Normally, temporary plates are effective for up to 30 days. The exact time will be decided by local Vehicle Administration Office and the effective date will be written on the paper. 

7. If you do not already have a car, you must buy and register one within six months of getting your license plate.

If you live in a small city, these steps should get you your license plate. However, if you live in first-tier cities, where there are restrictions on how many license plates are given out in order to combat both pollution and over-crowding, you may need luck or money – or both! 

We will do a follow-up article about how to get a license plate in Shanghai, stay tuned!

Source:

Registration Measures of Motor Vehicles in the People’s Republic of China (decree no. 56)

Global Times

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(AnyHelper 

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