Success rate up as bidder numbers fall at Shanghai's plate sale

Fewer participants at yesterday's vehicle license plate auction resulted in a higher nominal success rate of 7 percent despite a dip in the number of plates available.

The figure was up from 6.8 percent in September, as 105,532 people competed for the 7,400 plates on offer.

The number of buyers was down 14 percent from last month, while the government reduced the number of plates up for grabs by 900, in line with its plan to release exactly 100,000 over the course of the year.

With a first-round ceiling of 72,600 yuan (US$11,850), the average winning bid yesterday was 74,075 yuan, or 200 yuan more than last month, while the lowest successful bid was 74,000 yuan.

"It's much harder to get the timing right than the price," said Hu Jun, who yesterday failed for the second time to secure a license plate.

"The data transmission rate in the final few minutes of the auction process, when almost everyone places their final bids, is very slow," he said.

"The whole thing feels more like a lottery than an auction."

With an increase in the price ceiling widely anticipated for next year and the introduction of secondhand plates into the sales, Hu's chances of landing a license before the end of the year are likely to be slimmer than ever.

"The pending changes could prompt a lot more people to take part in the year's final two sales in November and December," said Shanghai-based car dealer Eddie Zhang.