Rental car quota won't aid electric cars sales

Beijing Commission of Transport issued the Measures for Allocation of Rental Car Quota in Beijing on July 22, as a revision of the existing Interim Measures for Allocation of Rental Car Quota in Beijing issued by Beijing Commission of Transport in 2011. The Allocation Measures comes into immediate effect upon the issuance.

Under the Allocation Measures, the "rental car" refers to passenger vehicle with no more than 9 seats. Unlike taxis which are regulated by separate rules, car rental companies are still required to obtain the quota under the vehicle quota administration system implemented in Beijing for adding new rental cars. However, the quota does not need to be obtained through the lottery process. Instead, it will be allocated by Beijing transport authorities based on the car rental companies' applications and the ranking and grades given by the transport authorities to each applicant pursuant to the standards set out in the Allocation Measures.

Compared to the Interim Measures, the Allocation Measures are featured with the priority conferred to the pure electric vehicles in the car rental sector in terms of the quota allocation. However, the Allocation Measures does not elaborate on the implementation rules to realize the priority in practice. Therefore, it is anticipated that the Allocation Measures are unlikely to instantly spur the enthusiasm of using pure electric vehicles in the car rental business until the further clarity on the detailed measures.

Moreover, in view of the sign provided in the Allocation Measures, the private use of pure electric vehicles may be also subject to the vehicle quota control. Earlier on there were rumors that the vehicle quota system will not apply to the pure electric vehicles for private use and the private users may register their vehicles without obtaining the quota. As indicated in recent news reports,however, officials at Beijing transport authorities anticipated that private users of pure electric vehicles may still be required to obtain the quota through lottery or alternative application process.

By extending the quota requirement to pure electric vehicles, it seems the Allocation Measures have reflected such trend, while the actual policy regarding the private use of pure electric vehicles may need longer time to achieve more clarity.