The Shanghai Daily reports that car plate prices in Shanghai have reached a record high price of more than 60,000 yuan ($9,523).

The local government controls the number of plates that are issued each month and sells the plates at auction.  Recently, the Shanghai government issued 8,500 plates for which there were 22,706 bidders.  Apparently, bidders believe the plate price will continue to rise so they are willing to place high bids now. 

The newspaper quoted one bidder who said, "It's really hard for me to afford a car plate costing more than 60,000 yuan while my new Volkswagen Polo only costs 77,900 yuan."