Chinese to auction off government cars impounded in anti-waste crackdown
First batch of vehicles taken off the roads by central government departments to go under hammer later this month
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 21 January, 2015, 11:22am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 21 January, 2015, 12:10pm
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Drivers wait for dozens of delegates at the National People's Congress in government cars. Photo: AFP
The first batch of central government cars to be taken off the roads as part of the crackdown on extravagant or unnecessary spending by officials is to be sold at auction.
Three Beijing-based auction houses are to sell more than 3,000 impounded official vehicles, the news website Chinanews.com reported.
Details have been published of 204 of them and opening prices range from 2,000 yuan (HK$253,000) to 250,000 yuan for a minibus.
Money raised will go the central government treasury.
The vehicles include Volkswagens, Audis and Buicks.
The highest starting price for a sedan is 180,000 yuan for a 2009 Audi, the report said.
Government guidelines introduced as part of the crackdown on wasteful spending state that government vehicles should only be used for specific tasks and in emergencies and not for day-to-day use by officials.
The auctions will be held on January 25, January 26 and on February 1.
