Stopping Traffic: Beijing to Reduce Car Purchases in 2014

Beijing's rush hour is eliciting more than a handful of grumbles right now, which is why the latest news on traffic regulations comes at a good time.

Transport officials plan to put a new limit on the number of cars that can be registered beginning in 2014, according to Sina English. This comes as part of a five-year clean air action plan, whose stipulations were released earlier this week, but supposedly begins this year. The government hopes to limit the number of cars in the city to 6 million, just 650,000 more than the number of vehicles on the road in July.

The license plate lottery was enacted in 2011 to start reducing the number of cars to relieve congestion and help improve air quailty. At that time, one in 23 applicants were allowed to purchase a car, but as of August 2013, only one out of 80 applicants could get one of the 20,000 new license plates allotted.

This comes at a time when the luxury car market in China is doing well, despite some decreasing demand last year due to an economic slowdown. By 2016, China is expected to become the leading seller of luxury cars, with 2.25 million in annual sales, accourding to global consultancy firm McKinsey.

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