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Auto Rental Booming in One Corner of the World

Beijing issued a one-month ban on purchasing cars. As a result, car rental companies in the city have reported that more than 90 percent of their fleets are out on rentals at any given time.

by Staff
January 12, 2011
2 min to read


As might be expected, car rental is currently one the fastest growing industries in Beijing due to the recent restrictions put in place to limit car ownership to reduce traffic congestion in the city, according to Cars for Stars.

The number of cars on Beijing roads has almost doubled over the past five years, resulting in gridlocked roads and increased pollution levels in Beijing. As part of Beijing's efforts to control traffic jams, only 240,000 license plates will be available this year in hopes of bringing automobile sales down from their record level last year, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

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Beijing has issued a month-long ban on purchasing cars. After the month is over, a car plate lottery scheme will be put in place. Just 20,000 people will be permitted to purchase a car in the city. A ban on license plates from outside Beijing has been put in place during peak times to help further reduce congestion on city roads.

As a result, Beijing residents are giving car rental companies a great deal of business. Some car rental companies have reported that more than 90 percent of their fleets are out on rentals at any given time. Some operators are planning to double their fleet because of the increase in demand.

That has also been good news for car rental customers. As the competition between rental car operators heats up, the operators have posted offers of up to 50 percent off rental rates to outdo their competitors.

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