It’s no secret that Chinese government purchases have long propped-up the fortunes of Audi and other luxury car brands that market to affluent Chinese (for info on this endlessly enjoyable topic, see here and here). But what’s less well known is the raw number of government-owned vehicles currently clogging Chinese roads. That is to say: just how much of China’s thriving automobile sector is being driven by government purchases? There are rumors, of course: someone who would know once told me that 30% of the cars on Shanghai’s roads belong to either party units, government units, or state-owned enterprises. Seemed a little bit high, but, then again, if it turned out to be true, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Thankfully, the Olympics have lifted the veil – at least, in Beijing.
Here’s the deal: from July 20 to September 20, 70% of government vehicles will be banned from Beijing’s roads in an effort to help clean/whitewash the city’s air for the Olympics. That ban will apply to central and municipal government vehicles, party units, and state owned-enterprises; buses and taxis are exempt (presumably, so are many of the city’s A6s).
Now, according to a spokesman for the Beijing Transport Committee, that 70% figure accounts for roughly 210,000 vehicles. Which means, by my calculation, that the Beijing Transport Committee counts 300,000 government-owned cars in Beijing, alone – or roughly 9% of the city’s reported 3.4 million cars.
[Yes, 300,000 is a bit too well-rounded for my comfort, but you take what you can get in these matters.]
On one hand, that seems like a whole lot of cars. Or, put differently, does anybody doubt that the number would be lower in an economy restrained by political accountability (ie, democracy and elections?)? On the other hand, 9% ain’t bad for an economy that’s a mere thirty years out of the total command mode.
Chinese government is not only one that buys expensive cars with the people’s money. Have you heard of Louisiana?
Louisiana? Where’s that?
Anyway. I really don’t relish the diminishing returns of an argument over which country – the US or China – is the more morally degenerate. And I’m proud to say, this blog has mostly avoided such discussions/arguments/dalliances/wastes of time.
My point was, merely, that there’s a whole lot of government-owned cars in China, and now we have some numbers on them. It’s something that I’ve wondered about for some time.