ABOUT 100,000 Shanghai car plates will be available next year, while the fixed ceiling for plate auction will remain at least until March, the Shanghai Transport Commission said yesterday.

The plate quota for next year is similar to this year as Shanghai continues to limit cars on the road. Sun Jianping, commission chief, said the ceiling price for the first three auctions in 2015 will be similar to the average price of a car plate in the last three auctions of 2014. The average price for a private Shanghai plate in the last quarter of 2014 was 73,798 yuan (US$11,872). The fixed ceiling last year was 72,600 yuan. The secondhand plate trade will be part of the monthly plate auction.