Official vehicles go to auction in Beijing

The first batch of 304 premium sedans formerly owned by the central government was auctioned off in Beijing on Sunday.

The 106 retired vehicles were from six central government departments including the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission and State Bureau for Letters and Calls.

The most expensive was an Audi sedan registered in 2008 with a minimum opening bid of 150,000 yuan.

For the first time in Beijing, offline and online bids were accepted simultaneously.

From Jan 23 to 25, the vehicles were displayed for prospective bidders at a parking lot. According to leading portal website Sina, on Jan 23 alone about 700 potential buyers sought further information. The majority were from Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces. About 80 lodged 20,000 yuan deposits.

The second and third auctions are scheduled for Monday and next Sunday at different auction houses.

Proceeds will go to the central treasury and the process will be closely monitored by the auditing agency, discipline inspection agency and the public.