Welcome to Black License Plate Mania in Beijing Part 11 (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10), where we look at cars with black license plates in the Chinese capital. In the first photo a Ford Maverick SUV with 京A·29246.
A classy black Shanghai-Volkswagen Passat with with 京A·35861.
We are continuing with another black car; a FAW-Toyota Crown with with 京A·28043.
An imported Skoda Octavia with with 京A·17074.
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 Chery Cowin II with 京A·37963.
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 they could park wherever they wanted without fear of a fine. Nowadays, a black-plated car is counted just like all the others and the government no longer issues new black plates.
This is a rare Samsung SM5 with 京A·25793.
The SM5 was marketed officially for a short while but sales were slow. Strangely, there were two SM5 sedans in the compound where I lived, which must be half of all in Beijing. But only one had black plates.
A beautiful Volvo S70 T50 with 京A·14100.
A Volvo S80 with 京A·32219.
A red Beijing-Jeep Cherokee XJ with 京A·10475. The plates are even older than the ones I had on my Jeep.
A Dongfeng-PSA Citroen Fukang ZX AXC with 京A·25531. The owner(s) just had a baby, according to the yellow stickers.
I guess the parents were called Jenny and Hawk. Well, I am sure the little one was happy driving around in the cool Fukang with black plates. What else could a baby wish for, right?
A Guangzhou-Honda Accord with 京A·34429.
A Dongfeng-PSA Peugeot 307 with 京A·26428.
A black Dongfeng-Honda Civic sedan with 京A·50101, complete with a shiny license plate frame. It also has black windows and black wind deflectors.
I haven’t seen many of these with black plates! A Nanjing-Fiat Palio Weekend wagon with 京A·25140.
Another Sino-American joint-venture classic with this massive Beijing-Benz Chrysler 300C with 京A·38167.
The FAW-Volkswagen Audi A6 is a fitting end to this story, probably the best-known early joint venture car. The license plate number is 京A·21119. Gray was the second-most popular color for the A6, after black.
More black license plate cars soon!