In an effort to ease traffic conditions and reduce air pollution, China's northern municipality of Tianjin is imposing a quota on new car license plates, according to Xinhua.
On Sunday, the day before the city imposed its restrictions on car license plates, residents rushed to the used car market. Amy Yuan Zhuang, Senior Analyst at Nordea Markets, tweeted this image characterizing it as "panic" buying.
#Tianjin introduces #car ban from today. In a second-car market last night people panic bought cars like cabbage. pic.twitter.com/R2CM6liqRb
— Amy Yuan Zhuang (@AmyYuanZhuang) December 16, 2013Consumers will now need to join a lottery or bid at auctions to win a license plate.
Like Beijing, Tianjin will block cars from the streets depending on the last digit on their number plates, with two numbers banned every day. The ban is expected to take effect on March 1.
Tianjin will also ban vehicles with non-local license plates from using the city's outer ring during rush hour.
Chinese automakers began to sell off on the news, according to CNBC's Dierdre Wang Morris.
See more images at China Daily.