PRIVATE car owners in Shenzhen have started having advertisements placed on their cars to help pay for rising fuel prices.
A reporter with the Shenzhen Economic Daily saw several private cars with advertisements driving on Bao’an Thoroughfare in about one hour Sunday. The range of advertisements included eateries, second-hand car dealers and automobile repair shops. Some carried just a sticker advertisement while others had their rear windows covered fully.
Some private car owners even posted messages online, saying they were willing to sell space on their cars to “help out with the rising cost of fuel.” “The cost of placing advertisements on private cars in Shenzhen is not high, yet the results are good. Willing to sell car (space) at low prices to help promote brand-names,” read one thread online.
An online transaction center for car advertisements claimed that car owners could easily earn about 3,000 yuan (US$439) a year running the advertisements. Some agencies were recruiting dozens of private cars to carry their logos through the online platform, with prices ranging from 70 to 100 yuan a day. Many car owners have already applied to join.
A woman surnamed Chen said she had almost allowed a car care center in Shenzhen to place advertisements on her car. “The owner of the car care center promised to polish my car once a week if I agreed to carry advertisements for the center,” Chen said. “I was really interested, but had to refuse because I didn’t know much about relevant laws and regulations.”
An employee of a car sales company surnamed Liao said he and his colleagues were obliged to place advertisements promoting their company on their cars. As a reward, they were offered a subsidy every year. Those who failed to carry the advertisements would be criticized, Liao said.
Officials of the city industrial and commercial administration said only buses were required to register with authorities to carry advertisements. There are now no rules governing the registration and management of private cars and company vehicles carrying promotional advertisements and logos.
Zhu Liangjun, a lawyer with the Guangdong Shenjinniu Law Firm, said it was illegal to place advertisements on private cars according the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Outdoor Advertisements Regulation. However, he said it would be only a matter of time before private cars were allowed to carry advertisements if the equal status of market participants was taken into account and because “every party enjoys the equal protection of the law.”
“If buses can take on advertisements, why can’t private cars be granted the same right as long as safety problems are addressed,” Zhu said.
Officials of the city vehicle administration center said it was illegal for any work unit or individual to alter the registered structure, construction and characteristics of their vehicles without authorization. Vehicle owners can’t alter the color of their vehicle, change engines or replace the body of their vehicles before their applications are approved.
Car owners may find themselves in trouble during annual vehicle checks if they failed to report any changes to the outer appearance of their vehicles, the officials said.
Kang Wei