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Brakes come off auto sales

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-23 11:33

Beijing car sales, which account for about a tenth of the national tally, are surging this month after the end of Olympic traffic controls and because of rumors about new caps on vehicle numbers, according to the head of China's largest auto market.

Car sales have risen 30 percent so far this month at Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange, Su Hui, its general manager, said yesterday. About 80,000 new vehicles were bought at the retail facility last year.

The city's drivers have returned to showrooms after it ended Olympic anti-pollution measures, which contributed to national car sales falling for the first time in three years in August and September. Car sales have also jumped on speculation ownership controls may be introduced to ease congestion and pollution in the nation's capital.

"We don't know how the rumor started or whether it's true, but it's certainly working in terms of boosting sales," said Su.

Beijing's local government is discussing plans to limit new vehicle registrations to 100,000 a year, about a third of the city's average annual vehicle sales, the 21st Century Business Herald reported yesterday, without citing anyone. The new license plates would be sold through auctions, the report added.

Shanghai, the only major Chinese city with vehicle- ownership limits, started plate auctions in 1994.

Still, even though car sales have recovered in Beijing, prices continue to fall as automakers work to clear backlogs.

Agencies