Beijing car sales to plummet in 2011

December 24th, 2011 - 5:37 pm ICT by IANS  

Beijing, Dec 24 (IANS) Car sales in Beijing will plummet from last year’s 890,000 units to 400,000 units in 2011 because of the city’s new traffic rules, experts say.

Beijing adopted a new policy last year to limit the issuance of new licence plates as part of its efforts to curb the city’s growing traffic. Since January, licence plates are issued only through a lottery system.

“Beijing sold 355,000 vehicles in the first 11 months, a sharp 53 percent decline from a year earlier. And the downturn will get worse in December,” said Su Hui, member of the China Automobile Dealers Association.

“Even the still-booming luxury car segment slowed year-on-year from 80 percent before August to about 40 percent now,” People’s Daily quoted Su as saying.

The restriction has limited the growth of Beijing’s automobile market, Su said.

Some Beijing automobile dealers have even closed their businesses, said Luo Lei, another member of the China Automobile Dealers Association. The restrictions have forced automobile dealers to restructure their businesses.

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