China has tried to control its booming car population in very different, often strange ways. Part of the reason is to control pollution, which large Chinese provinces are quickly becoming known for. Others, like license plate lotteries, are to restrict the number of cars. But there's still a huge demand.
According to Quartz and some Chinese websites, there are three main ways drivers are skirting the Beijing lottery:
• Get a plate from a different province (sounds straightforward, has some downsides)
• Rent a license plate (costly, more complicated)
• Get a "car carrier" with your car
That's the most sketchy. Apparently, some car dealers in Beijing will markup the price of a used car for the right to use a previous owner's license plate. The scheme is called a "car carrier" and it means the former owner still owns the title to the car, which sounds like the most ludicrous reason to pay more for a car.
Aside from registering your car somewhere else, all of these sound like strange ways just to get your own car. Although so does living in New York and parking your car in Connecticut, but that makes sense for some people.
Photo: AP
Beijing Car Buyers Pick Odd Ways To Avoid License Plate Lottery