Shanghai Number Plates

Number plate prices in Shanghai rose again this month as the lowest price surged to a record high at yesterday’s auction, causing some bidders to complain about the “insane” cost.

The cost of a car plate is more expensive than some cars including a 40,000-yuan Chery QQ subcompact, a Chang’an CX20 and a Geely Free Cruiser sedan.

The lowest bid for a private car plates rose to 55,400 yuan, up 2,600 yuan from January, auction organizer Shanghai Commodity International Co said.

The average price increased 2,437 yuan to 55,632 yuan in February, the second highest price on record. The all-time high of 56,042 yuan was set in December 2007.

The plate supply quota was set at 8,000 this month, the same as last month. The number of bidders was 23,391, down from 24,354 in January.

“It’s insane,” said a bidder, Wang Yi, who failed in her third attempt to get a license plate. She said she bid 55,000 yuan but didn’t have enough time to raise the offer as prices jumped too quickly.

Thankfully the DVLA haven’t started to quota our Number Plates.