Shanghai , China ( CNN ) With a well-paid job in finance and his own apartment , Li Lifei is living the Chinese dream . But there 's one missing ingredient -- his own car . The 26-year old has his eye on a Volkswagen Tiguan but Shanghai , like many large Chinese cities , rations license plates as it looks for a solution to its gridlocked roads and polluted skies . To register for a license plate auction , prospective car buyers like Li must put down a deposit in exchange for disc containing software they can use to bid online . The auctions take place once a month on a Saturday morning . `` I 've been trying for six months with no success , '' Li told CNN . To boost his chances , Li upgraded the speed of his Internet connection from 10 to 50 mbps but to no avail . Each month there are around 10,000 license plates available . At the most recent auction on Saturday , Li said the final price was 80,600 yuan ( $ 13,000 ) -- around three times the price of a cheap Chinese car and a third of what Li plans to spend on his SUV . It 's possible to get a temporary license , but that has to be renewed every month , and Li says he does n't want to use a huangniu , or middleman , some of whom employ hundreds of bidders to obtain the coveted registration . `` I know people who 've been trying for more than a year , '' he said . Another option would be to buy a hybrid vehicle that automatically qualifies for a license plate -- a selling point not lost on the car manufacturers showing their latest models and concepts at the Shanghai Auto Show this week . Toyota , Volkswagen and Volvo all launched gasoline-electric hybrids for the Chinese market at the show , while Chinese manufacturer BYD has been an early pioneer of electric and hybrid cars . `` The infrastructure ( charging stations ) for electric vehicles is not quite there yet but that 's the advantage of a hybrid -- you can have both , '' said Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson . But Chinese drivers have n't wholeheartedly embraced the concept . Even though China overtook the United States as the world 's largest car market in 2009 , sales of electric and hybrid vehicles , while increasing quickly , still lag behind the U.S. , where more than 100,000 were sold last year . And it 's thought many are sold to local authorities and state industries , which are responding to central government directives . Few Chinese have American-style garages where the vehicles can be charged overnight . Li said he thought it would be inconvenient . `` I do n't want a hybrid car . I thought maybe a Tesla but it 's too expensive , '' he said , referring to the hyper luxury electric sports car developed by Elon Musk that has seen weak sales in China . For others , the hassles of buying and owning a car have become too much and some affluent city dwellers are spurning cars . Shanghai resident Lei Gu , 35 , learned to drive as a student and Microsoft employee in Seattle and loved driving her compact Geo on the open U.S. roads . But when she returned to China nine years ago , she chose not to purchase a car . `` I used to love driving but I do n't think I could drive here even if I wanted to . `` Even though we have traffic rules , people do n't follow them . I can barely cross the street . '' She 's also put off by the congested traffic and the high cost of parking . If Shanghai 's extensive subway system does n't take her where she wants to go , she uses a popular Uber-like taxi app -- or rents a car . She 's not alone . A recent report by consultants Bain & Company suggested that even though China 's love affair with the car began late , it may already be souring . Of 2,137 people it surveyed , some 40 % said cars were losing their appeal as a status symbol . Gu says luxury cars like BMWs and Mercedes are still an important way to `` show face '' among many of her friends . `` If you 've been working for 10 years and do n't have a car , people might wonder if you have financial problems , '' she said . But she prefers to spend her money on other things like traveling abroad . `` I do care about face but there are other ways to show it . ''
Many large Chinese manufacturers ration license plates as they search for a solution to gridlocked congestion and pollution . It means many prospective vehicle buyers have to invest in license plates . But hybrid vehicles automatically bid for a license plate .