The buying power for private car's license plate has never been so strong. The lowest successful bid at the city's latest monthly plate auction set new records once again, pushed by traditionally higher year-end car buying.

At Saturday's monthly plate auction for individual and private company buyers, the lowest successful sealed bid rose 4,400 yuan from last month to 30,800 yuan (US$3,711). The average winning bid was 31,210 yuan, a 4,170 yuan increase from a month earlier.

The auction marked the first time both prices have been over 30,000 yuan since the city eliminated the 20,000 yuan floor price in January 2000.

In the city, individual buyers or privately owned companies must bid for private license plates before buying cars. Last month, the government unified the plate auctions for imported and domestic cars.

"Usually, a year-end boom in car purchasing pushes up bidding prices," said Fan Ganping, deputy general manager of the Shanghai International Commodity Auction Co. Ltd., which conducts the monthly auction.

"There are many more would-be buyers than license tags," he said, "Surprisingly robust private demand for new cars collided with government plans for limiting the number of vehicles on local streets."

On Saturday, a total of 4,021 local residents submitted sealed bids for 3,200 plates - the same number of plates it sold last month.

Volkswagen, General Motors, Toyota and a string of foreign and domestic automakers are responding to increased demand with splashy new products.

First Automotive Works-Volkswagen Automotive Co. Ltd. officially launched the 2003 version of its Audi A6 nationwide last week, in hope that the technically upgraded model will give it an edge on the competition.

"We are confident in succeeding in the increasingly competitive domestic car market as we have the ability to meet consumer demand for high-quality and diversified products," said Qin Huanming, general manager of the company.

The Audi A6 is the first luxury car assembled in China.

Audi AG, the luxury arm of Volkswagen Group, is mulling over the idea of launching its Audi A4 model at FAW-VW next year, according to Erich Schmitt, a board member of Audi.

Bayerishe Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, Audi's major rival, is getting ready to roll out its first luxury sedan in China in the second half of next year at its joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive Ltd.

Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. are also preparing new product launches, which will probably take place early next year.

(eastday.com November 25, 2002)