Guiyang, the capital of southwest China's Guizhou province, has become the second Chinese city to control sales of new cars in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

Starting this month, car buyers must enter a lottery on the 10th of each month to obtain new license plates, the Guiyang city government said in a statement.

The government has not disclosed its monthly quota on new vehicle sales.

With a population of 3.7 million, the city has a fleet of 616,000 motor vehicles, including 330,000 privately owned cars. The fleet has caused severe traffic congestion in the city's downtown areas, the city government said.

Beijing was the first Chinese city to impose new car sales. In January, Beijing capped new-car sales at 20,000 units per month.

The sales restriction in Beijing has been repeatedly cited as one of several factors causing the slowdown in auto sales in China this year.

After growing 37 percent in 2010, China's passenger vehicle sales increased only 5.8 percent in the first half of this year to 7.1 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.