(Yicai Global) Dec. 26 -- The average auction price for a car license plate in Shenzhen, Guangdong province has hit another new high at CNY95,000 (USD14,500), taking it past Shanghai's to become China's most expensive.

Shenzhen closed its last monthly license plate auction of the year on Dec. 25, with the cheapest going for CNY82,500 including auction fees. Just six months ago, the price was between CNY25,000 and CNY50,000, state-backed Chinese news outlet The Paper reported.

Shenzhen began its license plate control in 2015 and allocates 100,000 new plates each year. Among these, 20,000 go through a lottery specifically for electric cars, 40,000 go through a lottery for petroleum cars and 40,000 for petroleum cars are put up for auction.

Shenzhen traffic police brought in new regulations in August that further restrict the areas people without local plates can drive in and prevent drivers without local plates from driving during rush hour. People have since flocked to get their hands on a Shenzhen plate.

The rising prices could also lead to an increase in new-energy vehicles. Fewer plates are allocated to NEVs, but fewer people apply, giving drivers a better chance in the lottery.

There were over 3.18 million vehicles in Shenzhen as of the end of June, data from the Traffic Management Bureau under the Public Security Ministry shows.