Hangzhou: New plate restrictions

Dealers decry 'last supper', consumers left unprepared

With just a day's warning, the city government of Hangzhou implemented a vehicle restriction policy last week, leaving automakers, dealers and buyers unprepared.

Lu Lu, who works at the Hangzhou office of the Chinese website Netease, said when she learned from a microblog on Mar 24 that Hangzhou would begin a lottery process for new car license plates only two days later, she didn't take it seriously.