From January to October 2022, a total of 493,600 new vehicles were sold in Beijing, 34.24 percent of which were NEVs.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Beijing, the capital city of China, will issue 100,000 additional license plate credits in 2023, the same number as in 2022, but with a greater bias toward households.

Beijing will offer 100,000 additional vehicle quotas this year, with 30,000 available for traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and another 70,000 for electric vehicles, according to an announcement made today by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.

Of the 30,000 ICE license plate quotas, 28,600 will be offered to families and individuals, 1,200 to local companies and 200 to operating vehicles.

Of the electric vehicle quotas, 63,600 will be offered to households and individuals, with households receiving 50,880, or 80 percent, up from 70 percent in 2022.

Beijing offered 100,000 additional vehicle purchase credits in 2022, 70,000 of which were available for electric vehicles, including 44,520 for households.

Beijing is one of the most restrictive cities in China for car purchases, given its highly dense population and severe traffic congestion problems.

For residents who previously did not own a vehicle with a local plate, they would need to first obtain a vehicle purchase quota in a lottery system before they could purchase a vehicle.

Currently, residents are extremely unlikely to obtain ICE vehicle purchase quotas in Beijing, and it is less difficult to obtain electric vehicle license plates, but there is usually a wait of several years.

Beijing's policy is not friendly to plug-in hybrids, which are classified as fuel vehicles in the city and require the use of credits for traditional ICE vehicles.

It's worth noting that the 100,000 additional license plate credits Beijing will add in 2023 do not equate to the city's vehicle sales.

For residents who have previously owned local license plates, they can continue to use their past plates when replacing their vehicles.

From January to October 2022, new car sales in Beijing were 493,600 units, down 9.49 percent year-on-year, according to data released last month by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The number of NEVs sold during this period was 169,000 units, up 26.71 percent year-on-year, accounting for 34.24 percent of new vehicle sales.

China's car ownership stood at 310 million units at the end of June 2022, including 10.1 million NEVs, data released by China's Ministry of Public Security showed on July 6.

Beijing had more than 6 million cars as of the end of June, Chengdu and Chongqing more than 5 million, and Suzhou, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and Wuhan more than 4 million, according to the data.