The city's political advisers said in a proposal to the government that measures to contain the growth of car ownership should be considered in the next five years.
These include emissions and environment fees, securing a parking spot prior to obtaining a car plate, raising parking fees and levying a congestion charge.
The standing committee of the Beijing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) passed a proposal for 2011-15 to the city government on Wednesday, according to Beijing Evening News.
The ownership of cars in Beijing broke the 4 million mark in December. It took 31 months for the number to grow from three million to four million. It took Tokyo 12 years to do so.
The urban development and environment protection subcommittee of the advisory body said in the proposal that the ownership of cars in Beijing is growing by half a million a year.
Last week, 12,000 new cars hit the road, taking the total to 4.33 million, the Beijing traffic management administration said on Tuesday.
The number has been growing by more than 10,000 a week since April.
The proposal said that for every million cars, the city needs 2.82 million km of roads, which equals the length of all the roads within the Third Ring Road. The parking area for one million cars is 30 sq km, equal to half of the land within the Second Ring Road.
The committee said the "most effective, direct and fundamental measure" is to control the growth and it urged the government to study means of controling the total ownership and increasing the cost of purchasing a car.
One measure raised in the proposal is to require car owners to secure a parking spot before obtaining a license plate.
Wu Zhonghua, an editor of the car website bitauto.com, said the proposal sounds very idealistic.
"The prices for parking lots will shoot up and illegal trading of the lots may come back," he said.
In 1998, Beijing launched a similar requirement that car owners must secure a parking certificate before getting the plate. The intention was to curb random parking of cars.
However, many of the certificates were sold. When the government tried to stimulate domestic consumption, the plan was scrapped.
The proposal also suggested the government develop bicycle and pedestrian lanes and encourage people to walk or ride a bike when their commuting time is less than 30 minutes.
Beijing is drafting its 12th Five Year Plan (2011-15) and the government has been soliciting ideas from many channels such as the CPPCC Beijing committee, experts and the public.