(XINHUA)

Cars queue up to get licensed in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on March 25, after the local government announced its decision to restrict issuance of new car licenses from the next day.

In a bid to ease traffic congestion and combat air pollution, Hangzhou will restrict the number of plates issued every year to 80,000. Eighty percent of the quota will be decided by lottery and the remaining 20 percent will be auctioned with a starting price of 10,000 yuan ($1,610) each.

Hangzhou had about 2.6 million motor vehicles registered by the end of February, with 276,000 added in 2013 alone.