Mainland China’s e-commerce platforms have been exposed for engaging in the underground trading of fake license plates. Some sellers disguise their activities under names like “ornamental plates” to sell custom license plates for motor vehicles and electric vehicles, leading buyers to conduct transactions privately. Surprisingly, the price of fake license plates for electric bicycles can be as low as 40 yuan.
According to a report by the “Daily Economic News” on May 18th, many vendors on online platforms use terms like “personalized customization” and “entry and exit plates for electric vehicles” as code words to sell high-quality counterfeit license plates. These fake plates cover a wide range, including small car blue plates, new energy green plates, motorcycle plates, and electric bicycle plates.
One vendor providing custom license plate services told mainland media that these “customized plates” can be used legally on the road, and the level of simulation is no different from legitimate plates. The vendor even mentioned, “As long as you don’t get into an accident or get caught on the spot, there won’t be any problem. Electronic capture won’t pose a problem either, they can’t trace you. Many people come to customize plates just to avoid fines for traffic violations.”
Although these vendors claim that these fake license plates are only for internal or access control use, in actual transactions, the numbers can be randomly generated or customized according to the buyer’s needs. Sellers often avoid conducting transactions within the platform and instead guide buyers to add them on external social media accounts like WeChat for private communication and payment.
In terms of prices, taking the Shanghai market as an example, a forged new energy vehicle green plate is priced at around 180 yuan, with sellers claiming it can be sent through express delivery and arrive within two days. The price of forged Shanghai electric bicycle plates is even lower, ranging from about 40 to 70 yuan.
Fake license plate transactions are not limited to motor vehicles, as similar situations exist for electric motorcycles, low-speed electric vehicles (known as “slow-moving vehicles”), and their licenses. These licenses are often sold under names like “for internal use” or “access control identification only.”
An owner of an electric bicycle shop in Shanghai told the “Daily Economic News” that some consumers purchase counterfeit license plates through online channels to increase their riding speed or evade supervision.
The report also quoted Zhang Rui, a lawyer from Shanghai Qifang Law Firm, who mentioned that even if sellers market these plates as “ornamental plates,” “campus passes,” or “access control identification for residential communities,” if the plate styles closely resemble official plates and can have numbers customized freely, it could involve legal risks of counterfeiting or altering license plates.