SHANGHAI traffic police have issued a total of 1,294 new special car plates for clean energy vehicles for the first week of a trial operation launched in Shanghai and other four Chinese cities, police said yesterday.

The new plates, which are colored green and with six digits instead of five, have been issued since the start of the month. They include 544 for newly registered vehicles, with the rest for vehicles upgrading existing car plates, police said. Among the newly registered new-energy cars, 228 are electric, the rest hybrid.

New energy car owners who apply for a plate for the first time can choose a number either online at the traffic police website (www.122.gov.cn), the department’s app (jiaoguan 12123), or in person at vehicle management offices.

Those who want to change existing plates can only do so online.