Beijing: About 390,000 motor vehicles have been registered in Beijing over the past two years, less than half of those in 2010, China Daily reported on Sunday.

The slowdown in car registrations followed the launch of the license plate lottery system in 2011, the daily quoted the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport as saying.

In the past, motor vehicles in Beijing increased rapidly, from 2.58 million in 2005 to 4.81 million in 2010. The year 2010 alone saw 790,000 more units. By the end of 2012, the total number reached 5.2 million, 216,000 more than in 2011, a 4.3 per cent increase.