BEIJING - The number of accumulated applicants for Beijing's car registration lottery dropped for the first time in April as a new measure took effect requesting earlier applicants to renew their applications.

As of midnight Sunday, the Beijing car registration lottery office had received a total of 872,577 new and renewed applications from private car buyers, since the scheme was introduced in January 2011 to restrict vehicle purchases and curtail worsening traffic jams in the capital.

The number of applicants dropped about 120,000 from the record high of 990,806 registered a month ago.

Of the total private car applicants, only 17,600 will be awarded the rights for car registration each month, which means one in about 50 will win in April.

The lottery office issued a notice on March 26 at its website, requesting applicants registered from January 1, 2011 to January 8, 2012 to renew their applications before April 8.

Applicants who failed to renew would be automatically considered as giving up their applications, according to the notice.

Under the lottery scheme, only 240,000 new plates are issued each year, about a third of the number of cars registered in Beijing in 2010.