Landing a car license becoming a long shot

As a record number of potential car buyers apply for the license plate lottery in Beijing, the rate of success has witnessed its lowest level in history, China News Service reported on March 25.

Some 1.47 million people will participate in the lottery in March, but only 18,457 will be lucky enough to get a license plate, according to an announcement by the Beijing car control management information system website.

It means one out of every 80 applicants will be able to get a license plate.

The results will be released on Tuesday.

Since January 2011, potential private car buyers in Beijing have been required to participate in a lottery to obtain a license plate, a measure meant to ease the city's traffic congestion.

In February, more than 1.42 million people participated in the lottery. Some 40,000 more joined the lottery in March.