She said she is reluctant to make a purchase largely because of the current high prices of cars.

"The new rule has caused the car market to shrink and dealers aren't offering many discounts," she said.

A salesman surnamed Yan in the Huilonguan area, Changping district, told China Daily that few deals are being made with lottery winners these days.

"The members of a family will all apply for a plate in order to increase their chances of winning, but only one car will be purchased in the end," he said, adding that a frequent wasting of such opportunities will depress car sales.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Beijing residents have been swarming to other provinces out of desperation to get license plates, according to previous reports.

"Waiting to win a lottery will take too much time, so I decided to apply for a plate in Hebei province," a woman surnamed Fu was quoted by China National Radio as saying.

Yang Hongshan, deputy dean of the department of urban planning at Renmin University of China, said the defects in the lottery system are more obvious now that the system has been in place for three months.

"The problem is that real demands aren't being satisfied, while people with few intentions of buying cars are feeling compelled to enroll in the lottery," he said.