A Dongfeng-Nissan Sunny with 京A·26090.
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, 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 modified Volkswagen Bora with 京A·25633.
The numbering system began with 京A·00001 and continued upward, meaning the lower the number, the older the car. Black plates that start with 京A·0 or 京A·1 are ultra rare nowadays. I owned one myself!
In the past, black-plate cars enjoyed privileges similar to diplomatic cars. Police officers wouldn’t dare stop them, and owners could park anywhere without worrying about fines. Today, police treat black-plated cars like any other vehicle, and the government no longer issues new black plates.
A Mercedes-Benz G500 with 京A·34677. Note the mud flaps. I love mud flaps!
A rare Mercedes-Benz 190
This is a special one. A Mercedes-Benz 190 sedan, seen at a small car repair shop just outside of the mighty 5th Ring Road in Beijing. This shop was near my home and visited many times. The 190 was a restoration project, I was told, but one day, the shop and all its cars were gone. That happened so often in Beijing, frustrating, but part of a car-spotter’s life.
The 190 was an oldie: 京A·04827. That’s black-license plate royalty.
The Buick GL8
The SAIC-GM Buick GL8 has always been a popular vehicle among foreign-owned companies, so many of the older ones are fitted with black plates. This one has 京A·31172.
Another GL8 with 京A·32132.
A silver GAC-Toyota Camry with 京A·38257.
A black GAC-Toyota Camry with 京A·37266.
This is an oldie too! A Brilliance-BMW 328i with 京A·16640. Sadly, it looked pretty bad, no longer in use, with a broken window and an ugly sticker.
Brilliance-BMW 325i with 京A·23016.
A Dongfeng-Nissan Tiida sedan with 京A·35885. A lucky one, this is, as 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. The Tiida was a popular car too among foreign-owned companies, especially Japanese ones.
This one is rare with black plates; a Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia Carnival MPV with 京A·33911.
More Dongfeng! This one is a Dongfeng-Honda Civic sedan with 京A·34791.
The oldest ever
This is the oldest ever black license plate car I have seen in Beijing. I took this photo from a taxi. I was underway to elsewhere but I saved the spot in my Baidu Maps. A few days later I went back there but I didn’t see the car. It lived somewhere on the west of the Third Ring Road in Beijing. The car is a Beijing-Jeep Cherokee XJ, with the absolute ultra royalty number of 京A·00737. That’s a double-zero plate! I don’t think I will ever find an older one. More Black License Plates soon…