THE largest quota of car license plates ever sold at a monthly auction in Shanghai saw prices slip slightly from last month's record high at a sale over the weekend, but winning bids were still the second highest in the auction's seven-year history.
Officials said the number of plates on sale was increased as a temporary measure to lower prices and should not be seen as a signal the city plans to sell an unlimited number of plates in the future.
The city put 7,500 plates up for sale at Saturday's auction, the largest number since the monthly plate sales began in 2000.
The increased quota saw the average winning bid drop 1,130 yuan (US$149) from July's record high of 46,581 yuan, while the lowest winning bid slipped 2,000 yuan from 45,200 a month earlier.
The increased quota attracted 10,327 bidders, the largest number of potential buyers to take part in a plate auction this year.
While the city sold 3,700 more car plates during the first half of this year than the same period in 2006, a buoyant car market is pushing up demand and prices. Prices have topped 40,000 yuan since January and generally rise about 1,000 to 2,000 yuan a month.
Next month's auction will be held on August 18.