Welcome to Black License Plate Mania In Beijing Part 2 (Part 1 here), where we look at cars with black license plates in the Chinese capital. Also see this tag for more detailed reviews of other black-plated vehicles. On the first picture a Shanghai-GM Buick Lacrosse with 京A·31029.
A Shanghai-GM Buick Regal with 京A·51288.
Black license plates were issued to foreign owned companies from the 1980’s to the mid 00’s. These companies could buy a car locally, or import one. There were no limits on the number of cars, or on price, or engine type.
In the old days black-plated cars had some privileges comparable to diplomatic cars; no police officer would dare to stop them and they could basically park wherever they wanted without fear of a fine.
Nowadays, a black-plated car is counted just like all the others. The government does not issue new black plates anymore but those who have one can keep it until eternity.
A Kia Opirus with with 京A·39985. I met this car, and the next two, at a Korean restaurant in north Beijing. The guard was very surprised that I took these pictures. I explained the rarity of these black plates. He shook his head in disbelief and let me be.
Guangzhou-Honda Accord with with 京A·25596.
Beijing-Hyundai Sonata NF with 京A·52336.
The rules concerning selling a black-license plate car have changed over the years. Under the old system: when you had a black license car and you sold it, the plate went with the car. If you bought a new car and scrapped the old one, you could ‘take’ the black plate to the new car. Under the current system: if you have a black license car and you sell it, the license plate stays with you. But if you then buy a new car, you have to exchange the black license plate for a blue plate with the same number. This is how it is in Beijing, but rules may differ per city.
We really have a lot of Buicks today! A Shanghai-Buick GL8 with 京A·21627.
The number system was very simple: the very first black plate car got 京A·00001, the next one 京A·00002, and so on until the government stopped issuing black plates. The early ones, preferably with the original car attached to it, are highly sought after by collectors. The character 京 (jing) is short for Beijing.
A Guangzhou-Honda Fit with 京A·31510.
A Guangzhou-Toyota Camry with 京A·51869.
Not the whole car but a black plate it is. A Beijing-Hyundai Sonata with 京A·32370.
In southern China especially, the black-license plate system was used for all sorts of semi-illegal practices. Handy entrepreneurs would set up a bogus foreign-owned company, import cars, and sell them on again.
This was very profitable because these cars were not subjected to China’s famously heavy import taxes, which could be up to 120% in those days. Naturally, the more expensive the car the fatter the profit. So these ‘companies’ imported all sorts of high-end sedans, and even Porsche’s and Ferrari’s. I will look at some of these vehicles in a later article.
Did I say we had a lot of Buick? Here two more: starting with a Shanghai-GM Buick Sail with 京A·35196.
And finally a Shanghai-GM Buick GL8 First Land with 京A·52162.
More black-plate cars soon, but with less Buick in the next article (: