It would seem that the amount of 530 000 RMB (about PLN 290 000) would suffice to buy a luxury car consecutive from the surviving room. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, specified a sum was paid for Jianshe-Yamaha's used, unfit motorcycle, whose real marketplace value was only a fraction of that amount. Behind this apparent absurdity lies the ruthless logic of Shanghai's transport policy and the phenomenon of treating licence plates as investment assets.
Biding for a uncommon resource
The auction, which ended on 11 May 2026 on the Alibaba Judicial Auction platform, attracted the attention of all China. The object of the bidding, organized by the Pudong People's Court territory of Shanghai, was a motorcycle registered in May 2017. The vehicle was in “average” method condition – due to the unloaded battery it could not even be started.
The key to knowing this transaction is the authoritative valuation structure prepared by experts. The value of the single-track itself was estimated at only 2,500 RMB. The remaining 480 100 RMB from the call price was the value of the licence plate assigned to it “Shanghai Hu AQ1219” (沪A).
Only residents registered in Shanghai who did not have an active motorcycle registration could participate in the tender. 83 people were bidding, and the auction was watched by over 90,000 net users. After 38 rounds of fierce bidding, the winner was a merchant named Liu, who paid 530 000 RMB – by 190 000 RMB more than the call price. The winner besides had to deposit RMB 90 000 for registration procedures.
Table “Hu A” as hard currency
Why does a tin plate scope the price of a luxury limousine? The answer lies in the traffic management strategy in the 24-million metropolis. Since the '90s. Shanghai has consistently pursued a policy of reducing motorcycling traffic. Urban authorities have long since issued fresh “Hu A” category plates for motorcycles.
This means that the pool of these registrations is completely closed. It is now estimated that little than 50,000 of these plates stay throughout the city. More importantly, the “Hu A” boards offer a much wider scope of authority to decision around the city. Unlike the cheaper “Hu C” (沪C) boards, which are prohibited from entering outside the city bypass, the “Hu A” holders can decision more freely around the center (with any exceptions on the main arteries).
With the increasing popularity of motorcycles among the affluent residents, this collision of rising request with frozen supply increased prices to astronomical levels. As a result, the registration plate ceased to be simply evidence of the vehicle's formal entry into service, and became a luxury good and a “hard currency”, seen by any as a capital injection protecting against inflation.
Social costs of traffic limitation
Experts and commentators point out that the Jianshe-Yamaha motorcycle case is simply a bright example of dysfunction in the allocation of urban transport resources. The situation in which a “piece of sheet metal” costs respective twelve times more than the vehicle itself makes questionable the intent of specified drastic restrictions. For many locals, this means that it becomes a privilege reserved exclusively for the richest, creating an artificial barrier and excluding average citizens from this form of mobility.
Source:
- “上海一辆二手摩托车法拍,卖出53万元高价,只因一块稀缺铁皮”, Sina News.’
- “离谱!53万拍辆摩托,车仅值2500元,沪A牌照才是硬通货”, Sohu Auto.’
Author: 梁安基 Andrzej Z. Liang, 上海 Shanghai, 中国 China
Email: [email protected]
Editorial: Leszek B.
Email: [email protected]
