Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

The sluggish auto market in Shanghai has prevented the prices of local car license plates from increasing, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.
The lowest winning bid for a private-car license plate fell to 26,000 yuan (US$3,132) last month, with the average winning bid at 27,620 yuan.
The Shanghai Information Center has revealed that the number of license plates obtained by buyers of mid-and high-end domestic sedans in the first ten months of the year declined by 9.35 percent from a year before; however the number plunged by 60 percent in October from the previous year.
A growing number of prospective car buyers in Shanghai are taking a wait-and-see attitude, which has contributed to the decline, said an industry analyst.
Car makers and dealers are expected to offer many preferential policies to attract buyers by the year end, which is likely to drive up license place prices, so buyers might considering buying cars now, when the license plate prices are stable, the analyst suggested.