Over 210 thousand individuals are currently competing for the first 20 thousand Beijing license plates, under the capital's new lottery system. It means only one in 12 applicants can look forward to driving a new car on the capital's streets.

For thousands of hopeful commuters in the capital, 2011 started with a click, not a bang...

Residents hoping to snap up Beijing license plates, logged onto a website at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Within 10 minutes, 6 thousand people had applied.

The license application office has also been inundated with applications.

Guan Qinghai, staff of application office, said, We are busy with applicants all day long. We don't even have a break at lunchtime.

Most applicants don't actually have a car-purchase plan. They just want try their luck in the lottery.

An applicant said, I'm thinking of getting a license plate first, whether I buy a car or not. I will just wait and see.

Another applicant said, I didn't have a car-purchase plan before. Because of the lottery system, I think an earlier application will make it easier to get a license plate. But to be honest, I don't really need a car.

Most applicants say they will buy a new car if their luck comes up in the lottery.

Definitely new car.

Who will buy a second-hand car?

As 2010 ended in a blaze of car purchases, 2011 opened with a frenzy of license plate applications. It seems that China's grid-locked capital is set to continue its love affair with the car.