430,000 Beijing drivers wait for new-energy car plates

Some applicants in Beijing may wait as long as eight years to receive the license plate required for a new-energy vehicle, according to data released on Tuesday.

By June 8, more than 3.26 million individual purchasers and 62,596 organizations had applied to get plates for gasoline-powered cars.

The number of individual drivers and organizations applying for new-energy vehicle plates reached 430,656 and 8,802 respectively. 

The annual quota of 54,000 new-energy vehicle plates in Beijing has already been filled, meaning that remaining applicants could wait up to eight years to be issued an owner's license.

Beijing introduced a license plate lottery system in 2011 to curb the growth rate of new automobiles in the metropolis. Under the system potential car buyers must participate in a lottery, which takes place every two months, for a purchase permit.

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