Welcome to Black License Plate Mania in Beijing Part 10 (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9), where we look at cars with black license plates in the Chinese capital. In the first photo a cool Shanghai-Volkswagen Santana with 京A·40934.
A FAW (Tianjin) Toyota Reiz with 京A·38527, with the 2.5-liter V6 under the hood.
The famous black license plates were issued to foreign-owned companies from the 1980s to the mid-’00s. These companies could buy a car locally, or import one. There were no limits on the number of vehicles, or price, or engine type. Other Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, had similar black plate license plate programs. The Beijing black plates started with 京A, with ‘京’ short for 北京, Beijing.
A Dongfeng-Nissan Tiida sedan with 京A·35563.
The numbering started at 京A·00001, and then up. So the lower the number the older the car. Any black plate beginning with 京A·0 or 京A·1 is considered ultra rare. I know, I had one too! In the old days, black-plated cars had some privileges comparable to diplomatic cars; no police officer dared to stop them, and could park wherever they wanted without fear of a fine. Nowadays, a black-plated car is counted just like all the others.
The government no longer issues new black plates, but those with one can keep it until eternity.
I haven’t seen many BMW 7s with black plates, but here we have a BMW 730 Li with 京A·28885. A lucky car this must be, as ‘8’ is the luckiest number in Chinese culture.
A Dongfeng-Nissan Sunni 2.0 with 京A·39612. This one was hiding between trucks, this is the best shot I got.
A black Beijing-Hyundai Sonata (facelift) with 京A·51470.
I was quite fanatic about these black license plate cars. I would take considerable risks in traffic to get a good pic, with my car, scooter, or bicycle. But it was worth it. Sometimes, I even got doubles! This is a Great Wall Hover with 京A·34788. And…
… the same car was seen on another day! The Hover was a popular car among foreigners living in Beijing. It was cheap, easy to maintain, and it could go everywhere. Many of my friends had Hovers. Good car, but I always liked my Jeep better.
A Cadillac SRX with 京A·23842. The SRX was imported so it is rather rare. It was sold via the Shanghai-GM dealer network.
A Dongfeng-PSA Peugeot 307 sedan with 京A·25302. These sedans were all over Beijing in the 2000s, but they are all gone now. Disappeared without a trace. Not sure why.
A Hyundai Grandeur V6 with 京A·32482. The Grandeur was an import, sold via the Beijing-Hyundai dealer network.
An oldie! Honda Civic sedan with 京A·19801. This generation Civic wasn’t manufactured in China.
A Shanghai-GM Buick GL8 with 京A·25395. Dark blue was the most popular color for the GL8 by far. It was the perfect office car. My office had two of them. Each one could take up to seven folks.
A Guangzhou-Toyota Camry with 京A·37527.
A Dongfeng-Nissan Teana with 京A·51227.
Another FAW (Tianjin) Toyota Reiz, this one in white, with 京A·52101.
A big black Lincoln Town Car Executive Series with 京A·15732. I saw it casually parked alongside the road, it was in super shape and well-maintained. Look at those wheels, as good as new!
More black license plates soon.