2010-11-03 17:35

On Tuesday, the Beijing Transportation Committee refuted the recent rumors about the municipality's restriction policy on car license plates by public auction, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Beijing Transportation Committee said the auction measure is not feasible given Beijing's current traffic situation that it started too late and will add extra financial burden to car owners.

Car sales rose in the last few weeks after the rumor. Public opinion shows even if the auction policy would not be implemented, car prices will increase according to Beijing government's 12th Five-Year Plan, which clearly includes car restrictions on its agenda, as a way to ease Beijing's continuing traffic problems.

Guo, who just bought a new car, said, "I've struggled for a long time to make this decision, and finally I bought one, because it will be troublesome if there's a car-purchase restriction next year."

The overall automobile market showed signs of anxiety about any possible car-purchase restrictions in Beijing next year, because once the capital city starts, similar measures may spread to second- and third-tier cities, and that will definitely harm the overall car market, automobile experts say.