Public service vehicles auctioned for 20m yuan

Two more auctions with 198 vehicles are scheduled for Jan 26 and Feb 1.

A total of 3,184 official vehicles impounded by the central government are waiting to be dealt with.

The money raised will go to the central treasury and the process will be watched by the auditing agency, discipline inspection agency and the public, said Xu Yongsheng, deputy head of the National Government Offices Administration's state assets management division.

"This is the first auction after the national's official vehicle reform, and efforts have been made to ensure transparency during the process," said Xu. "Information and an evaluation about every car can be checked online and supervised by the public."

Ye Min, president of Zonto, said about 6,000 people came to the preview from Jan 23 to Jan 25.

"I think this showed that the public's reaction to the official vehicle reform is quite positive," Ye said. "And the secondhand car market also has great potential."

The fact that the cars had no plates affected the enthusiasm of Beijing citizens who have to get a plate through a lottery, Ye said.