Shanghai's vehicle population will more than double to 1.5 million by 2010 and between 20 and 25 percent of local families will own a car by that time, according to the city's top economic watchdog.

By the end of last year, Shanghai had a total of 600,000 vehicles driven by private owners, excluding vehicles registered outside the city, the Shanghai Economic Committee said.

Auto buying is on a fast track in the economic center of China as swelling pockets helped to spur market demand and declining car prices have made luxury consumer goods more affordable. The demand has also created record prices for car licenses over the past several months.

The average price for a private car license increased 2,734 yuan (US$364.26) to 49,631 yuan for last month from a month earlier as the record high number of 8,500 available car plates still could not meet demand.

Since 2000, Shanghai has been the only city in the Chinese mainland to offer car licenses by auction in a bid to ease traffic congestion and protect the environment.

The second-hand car market in the city has also surged.

Transactions in second-hand vehicles rose from 64,255 in 2000 to 165,545 for 2005 while the trading amount increased from 2.97 billion yuan to 8.86 billion yuan during the same period of time.

It is forecast that about 270,000 second-hand vehicles will be sold by 2010 as more auto buyers change their cars after five years.

The local economic bureau, the public security department and the industrial and commercial administration have pledged to form a better second-hand car-trading mechanism.

Government departments have mapped out a plan including setting just 10 second-hand car-trading markets citywide with a total number of 350,000 square meters.

A wide-range of upgrades will also be launched on existing second-hand car markets and new ones must be built outside the city's outer-ring roads.

(Shanghai Daily October 12, 2007)